Sector Five
by FlairForTheVeil
Summary: In a war-torn world of the five Sectors, Naruto finds himself deserted with no recollection of his former survivors. Taken by a new group, he struggles to become reaccustomed to a world where bandits run wild, government drones are at his heels, and only the selfish survive. But in a place like this, a dark-haired boy can remind him of the better side of humanity. AU, NaruSasuNaru.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

><p><em> He was running. He couldn't remember now who – or what – he was running from, but damn if it wasn't the sprint of his short life. His boots pummeled against the newly wet pavement, both slower and faster than the tempo of gunshots starting to fade behind him as he rounded up a corner and skidded into a hopefully empty alley. <em>

_ He could hear the haunting shrieks and yells of the last few remaining members of his group, his last hopes, his last friends, and quite possibly his last sight. They were telling him to save himself since he was the youngest of the group, but in their harsh bellows, he heard pleas to stay and fight them off and continue living off the streets. A horrid life._

_ He heard the mechanical whirs and beeps just on his heels and his heart beat against his chest even faster than it had before, begging to get out and save itself as to dying a dishonorable death. His breath was a harsh wheezing and he ignored the spittle fleeing his mouth and his sight was blurred and stinging with sweat, his skin was clammy and burning at the same time and his smell was of gasoline and soiled streets, rotting bodies and the nauseating scent of blood. _

_ Perhaps his own._

_ He risked a glance back and nearly curled his toes in terror as a damaged Katon zeroed its dull, blue, electrical eyes that were an imitation of his own in on his face and he quickly whipped his head back around to the fire escape a few yards in front of him, not wanting it to identify him. _

_ His own footsteps and the steel legs tickling the concrete of his _buddy_ Katon were the only things that he could hear. Fuck, the fire escape was only about forty feet away from him now, so if he could shoot the damn thing before it-_

_ He heard the cocking of the damn thing's blaster and leapt onto the fire escape latter, hoping to at least elope to the roof of the two story building and kill the thing from there. He snatched his gun from its place snuggled in his belt loop, struggling up the bars of the ladder so fast that his combats got stuck in them. He was beginning to get dizzy from his exertion as he climbed higher and higher, balancing his gun with two fingers in his right hand on top of the sidebar of the ladder. He heard _it_ changing directions and fixing to climb up the wall as he reached the roof of the bulding and desperately groped for a ledge, dead body, something to grab onto and hoist himself up. He did just so and flipped the safety off and aimed where he last remembered the thing being, preparing to pull the trigger as the first traces of a smirk graced his sweaty face-_

_ Something shoved him back a good ten feet, halfway across the roof. His jaw went slack in wonder and his pupils dilated while his brain turned to jam. All he could hear was a thick, heavy buzz. A buzz like the echo of hitting metal against metal. Pain. Severe pain. Hazily, he thought it was the worst he'd experienced. Was that his head? His vision doubled, tripled, quadrupled, and his head spun in a million different directions, his unfocused eyes trying to focus on the kaleidoscope of red bricks in front of him as rain started to pour down again._

_ Warm blood on the left side of his neck as he got over the first wave of shock and pain and unsteadily faced the Katon charging up another bullet. He stumbled back a few more steps and tried to aim at the three white, spinning forms of the robot-_

_ Another gunshot was heard and all was silent except for the rain. Was that his own? He felt another gush of warm blood, this time funning father down his shoulder and broad chest. Yeah, it was. He lifted his index finger off the trigger of his cheap ol' Browning, letting the corners of his mouth turn up into a sleazy grin. _

_ He stumbled back a few more steps as his adrenaline wiped itself from his system, a second, much more powerful wave of pain engulfing him and making him hoarsely yell and clutch at his head._

_ Oh, fuck, no – that felt worse than before – and he yelped and doubled over when he noticed that he was only hearing rain and his own breathing out of his right ear and clenched his fists between his thighs and the throbbing of his left ear wouldn't fade in any sort of way._

_ Help. Please, anybody. He needed help. But where to get it? His group was dead. They were all dead. Killed because they sacrificed themselves for him, so he could live a longer life in this shit world. _

_ The branch group. He couldn't remember much right now, but he pictured a blonde ponytail and a huge white dog as he stumbled back to his feet, losing himself in a few more steps back. Where were they? What was it called? W…_

_ His train of thought completely vanished as he gasped in pain and threw himself backwards to lean against the brick wall on the opposite side of the roof, finally resting._

_ Resting? He wasn't resting. It sure did feel like he was falling. Why would he be falling that far against a wall that was a few feet away…?_

_ Was there even a wall?_

I guess this is why they called me an idiot so often, _he thought, flailing his arms around him for the cement roof he was once on._

_ But his hands never met the cement roof or the brick wall of a neighboring building. They met nothing, air, raindrops in his sweaty palms as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he opened his mouth to turn to his friend to ask what was going on. Where was he?_

_ Everything went black as his hands finally met gravel, skin being torn open by it, but not the one that covered roofs._


	2. Far From Home

Chapter 1: Far From Home

The first thing he felt was the frigid winter air on his bare stomach and face.

Cold.

There was a throbbing pain in his head and left side of his body, but it was dull, yet blunt enough to be qualified as discomfort. His back was sore and stinging and he could tell that he was lying on street gravel. What was he doing there?

There was a buzzing, ringing in his left and he tried to wrench open his eyes. They were crossed and burning as the pale violet of the winter sunrise assaulted them. Where was he?

What happened?

He tried to remember what happened, honestly, he did. But all he could conjure was a glimpse of red and white hair, waves of endless sand, strange symbols, an angry female voice cussing him out and a twiddling index finger and thumb.

He registered yelling and the pang of metal against metal, skin against steel, robot against human. His eyes squinted shut at some deep girlish giggling and a gurgled growl of "Put that the fuck away, Hatake!"

_What that hell is going on?_

More gunshots and shouts of anger and pain, something about pills and medical supplies and looting the convenience store across the street-

_I need to get home, I need to get home,_ he tried to sit up and only got so far as a few inches before he stilled as he realized something.

_I don't know where home is._

He gasped loudly at the new pain that showered over his whole body, working his jaw and immediately uncurling his fists as soon as he tried to clench them. He opened his eyes completely and looked down at his bloody tan fist in which there was a black handgun-

_Where am I?_

_Who am I?_

He grunted in pain as his violent thoughts triggered a worse pounding in his head, slumping down from his tense position as exhaustion nearly possessed him.

The last thing he heard was feather-light footsteps against wet dirt and calm breathing. The last thing he saw was a black head, _was that a fucking pantyhose?_, and haunting, questioning dark eyes.

He startled awake again as he discovered there was a crackling of a fire right in his ear and nearly singing his hair.

He tried to gasp but only ended up exhaling heavily and nearly gagging in pain as his movements and breathing were restricted, his thoughts slowing as something tight was around his head and what seemed like a pillow was on his left ear.

He winced and pried his eyes open to look straight into a bonfire a few feet away from him, glowing ashes rising into the air and dissolving just short of his plane of vision. He could see green grass and many trees around him, various items strewn around such as books, empty pill bottles, an odd looking Velcro sandal and used medical supplies.

His eyes tried to strain in the direction that there was yelling coming from, but unfortunately, it was coming from behind him. The voices were similar and seemed to be fighting, both deep and powerful and dark. There were a few more extra voices, one female and screeching at a voice which was nasally and another one that was calm and calculating and discussing something with yet another deep, calm voice. What the actual hell was going on?

He cringed at an animalistic growl from the deeper of the two. "What the _hell_ were you thinking, you asswipe? Why the fuck do you pick a random kid off the street when we barely have any supplies to go around for your own dumbass condition? How the fuck do you know he's not a spy from One, a bandit from Three or a fucking religious sacrificial freak from sector Four? What makes you think that I'll _allow_ him to-"

"Shut the hell up, Itachi! I already identified him and he's from Five-"

"Five? _Five? _What the hell is he doing on the streets then? He's probably a criminal, an exile! Banned by our own blood! I thought I raised you a whole hell of a lot better than this, Sasuke, and this has _got_ to be one of the worst decisions you've ever made. You were injured yourself, for Kami's sake-"

"Just because he was on the streets from Five doesn't mean jack shit. You know hell as well as the others that it was overpopulated and had to let go of some of its military- _military, _Itachi, he's a _soldier_-"

"What, do you think he's going to save us all or-"

"And by the way, that wasn't my own fucking blood, that was his. The only injury I got was a bruise from the damn Katon-"

"Would you stop fucking interrupting me? You're the one who needs to get-"

"No, stop interrupting _me! _You're not letting me explain just how-"

"What? Not letting you explain what? How you think he's going to be the damn hero of the fucking group, when you can barely cover your own ass? He's _injured, _Sasuke, and he has not a single damn benefit to any of us-"

"He's an O negative."

There was an immediate hush that fell over the arguing voices around him, and a few gasps as well.

The female voice was wavering and uncertain, "Are you… serious? Are you sure? There's only nine left, isn't there?"

The deep voice that stated a blood type answered her. "No. He's assumedly the only one left since I only found seven bodies back there."

"Show me his identification, I can check for sure, Sasuke. Don't get too excited."

There was a grumble and a bit of rustling and a click, a beep as an Identification Card was projected into the air in front of them. Kakashi hummed in delight and squinted his mismatched eyes at the high-ranking military status on the sector Five card, chortling a bit. "Not so useless now, is he, Ita-chan?"

There was a frustrated sigh and a grumble of how he could easily die.

Karin dragged the hologram closer to the guy's body by the fire and kneeled behind him. He was facing away from them so they wouldn't need to worry about him, with his body covered in bandages and all. She gently laid a hand on his firm abdomen and flipped him over-

And screamed when she saw shockingly bright blue eyes open and staring at her.

There was a flurry of footsteps and "The fuck's up with you?" and a few more curse words thrown around as the rosy haired girl composed herself. There was a metal clang of a sword imbedding in moist soil and a few light chuckles.

"Nothing, I just didn't expect him to be awake." She sighed breathily and completely turned the blond haired boy on his back, gently checking his pulses and patting his cheeks to warm his face. "How are you feeling…" she turned to the flickering and buzzing hologram beside her, "… Naruto?"

_Naruto._

_Naruto? _

Said boy slowly blinked up at her thickly rimmed black glasses and saw his own reflection in them.

Yellow. Shocking blond. Was he really that blond? He could see cerulean irises in her slightly foggy lenses. Were those scars or birthmarks, those kitty-looking whiskers on his face? He tried to open in mouth but only winced and groaned in pain.

Karin turned to a solemn looking Juugo and asked him to fetch painkillers and a few pillows and blankets. She ignored Itachi's feral growl, quite well aware of just how much the dark-haired man held a disliking from the kind looking blond in front of her.

She mustered up a gentle smile and caressed his forehead for the signs of a fever. "I'm Karin, the medic of this group. You must be in a lot of pain because you have a severe concussion, four broken ribs, and a dislocated knee. The reason you have such a severe concussion is because-" she touched the heavy bandages on his left ear- "you were shot here and I'm pretty sure you fell off of the top of a restaurant. I found a dead Katon on the roof, so you must have fought him off, didn't you? I removed the broken glass and gravel from your back and your hands. You shouldn't have any infections. I had Juugo realign your knee so you should be walking well enough by now. You're lucky that your ribs didn't pierce your lungs or any of your other organs. Sit up."

Naruto tried to process the information being poured on him as he was dragged by his arms to sit up on thick pillows and bundled in wool blankets. Karin crouched in front of him and asked him to tell them the last thing he could remember but his throat was too dry and his lungs too weak.

He looked up from the slightly cracked cup he was given with a small amount of clean looking water in it and observed the people in front of him. Karin was a relatively petite girl, with pretty long red hair and a pale complexion. Her hair made something in the back of his mind itch, but for now, he couldn't remember a thing. There was a humongous looking boy with mangled orange hair and a blue jumpsuit, who introduced himself as Juugo. The next boy, Suigetsu, was much smaller with malnourished white hair and creepy looking teeth that glinted when he mischievously smirked. A tall man that seemed friendly enough named Kakashi smiled at him though his strange spandex-looking mask that covered the lower half of his face and slightly creeped Naruto out with the perverted thoughts swirling around in his mismatched eyes. His eyes roved over to a man that Kakashi had to name Itachi through his unwelcoming aura, pale and tall with a silky dark brown ponytail brought to the front of his shoulder that reached his elbows. Naruto made a mental note to steer the fuck clear of the dude as his tired looking eyes were nearly shut from glaring at him so fiercely.

Next to Itachi stood a boy who looked like a near mirror image of him. _Brothers, _Naruto thought. He stood in a friendlier stance and was a few inches shorter than his elder brother. Sasuke, who was painfully handsome, had hair that was so black it was nearly blue and skin paler than he had ever seen. Bangs framed a defined jaw and matched almond shaped pitch black eyes that looked miles deep. _Sasuke, _Naruto rolled the name around once again in his mind and tore his eyes away from the boy.

He cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "Why am I here?"

Even the lingering Itachi froze as those words escaped his lips. Kakashi visibly frowned and turned to Karin. She answered the unspoken questions as she already expected this to happen.

"It's only reasonable that he has amnesia. He fell two stories and I don't even know how he lived. Whether it's permanent or temporary, I can't tell, but if we got to a hospital then I could charge up an MRI scan for brain damage and tell you guys."

She turned from the group to Naruto and asked him, "Do you remember anything at all, even if they're little things like colors or what happened to you before this? If you tell me, I may be able to help you."

The boy named Suigetsu shifted his weight to one foot and shoved his hands in his pockets. "He's already pretty fucked, Karin, so I don't see the-"  
>"Shut the hell up, Suigetsu!" Karin was suddenly in the white haired boy's face. "I'm gonna strangle y-"<p>

"Woah," Naruto interjected, making a face at Karin's mood swing. He held his tan hands up and glanced at how tan they were. Like honey. "I do remember a few things, and-"

"What?" Karin was suddenly right in front of him again and her scarlet eyes were wide behind her glasses. "Everything. You have to tell us everything."

"Well, it's only a little bit, seriously," Naruto grumbled and pushed himself up a bit against the pillows that supported his back. "Geez."

He could feel everybody around him staring at him and for once he dreaded the feeling of all the attention on him. "I remember… the ground. And red hair, like yours, Karin. And long blonde hair. A big white dog. I remember running-" 

"From what?" Itachi glided a few feet closer to Naruto. "Katons? Guards? Tw-"

"Shut up, Itachi." Sasuke appeared next to his brother and kicked the back of his knee with a thin black boot. "Cut that shit out."

Kakashi held up an orange book and slightly turned away from the rest of the group. "I think that's enough fighting for tonight, don't you think, Sasuke, Itachi?" The tall man scuffed his shoe in front of the small fire that they had built.

Naruto caught a glimpse of the sign on the front of the book and suddenly remembered a flash of white hair and, for some reason, warts. "Hey!" He accidentally called, his gaze fixed on the book. "Let me see that."  
>Kakashi turned to him and slightly grinned. "Well, Naruto-kun. Do you see this sign on the front? It means no readers under eighteen." He giggled behind his hand. "Your ID says that you're not seventeen yet.<p>

Naruto puffed his cheeks out and scowled a bit. "Not like that, you damn geezer. It reminds me of something!"

Itachi and Kakashi shared a look and the book was thrown in his lap. Naruto picked up the well-worn book and opened the cover. _Icha Icha Paradise. _He frowned at a busty looking woman and an overly buff man giving each other intense looks as he flipped to the index and publisher information.

_Jiraiya Sannin. _

"Old pervert?" Naruto whined, memories of Jiraiya giving him sleazy grins and asking him to proofread his dirty novels surfacing in his mind. A particularly fond memory of the damn pervert shoving a toad down the front of his pants and himself screaming at the top of his lungs and running around a fire made his scowl melt off his face and a soft smile replace it. "I knew Jiraiya," Naruto murmured, looking up at Kakashi.

The scarecrow smiled down at his long time friend's pupil. "Maa, how could I forget a brat like you?" He gently patted Naruto's bright tufts of hair. Itachi scoffed somewhere in the background. "He's a goodie. Probably traveled with Jiraiya and the lot as a group. Do you remember a blonde woman, Naruto?"  
>The blond nodded an affirmative and before he could ask any more questions Kakashi clasped his hands together and rested them on his cheek, turning to Itachi and giving him a dazzling smile. "We're keeping him. Let's just help him recuperate and I'm sure we can find our way back to shelter."<p>

Itachi didn't answer but turned and stalked to a small tent that was deeper in the woods.

Kakashi grabbed the hologram that Karin had left on and showed Naruto his ID.

Staring back at Naruto was himself. Sector Five, Konoha…

"Military?" Naruto wondered, eyes squinting at the term next to it.

"You were of a very high rank before you were excused, which is surprising for kids, Naruto. It's a wonder how you were a Jounin at age twelve."

Naruto couldn't help but let his ego swell somewhere inside him as Kakashi continued to read him information that came from the card.

"Blood type O negative. Do you remember what happened before all of this, Naruto? Not before coming here, but how you were excused as well as many other military members. The Five Sectors, is what I mean. Their downfall."

Naruto shook his head as he felt that that information was important somewhere in the back of his mind. _Home, _a frantic voice wheezed in the back of his mind.

There was a shared look between the remaining members of the group and tension became thick as a wire to pluck in the air.

"So you lot are going to make me do all the talking, eh? Baa. I just wanted to read." Kakashi sat down next to him and noticed that the blond boy was maybe only an inch shorter than his own five foot eleven, given that he stood up soon. Sasuke also settled down in front of Naruto, as did Karin and Juugo. Suigetsu grumbled something along the lines of "Fuck this shit" and "Ya'll are crazy fuckers" and slinked off into the woods.

"Ten years ago…"


	3. The Past and A New Beginning

Chapter 2: The Past and A New Beginning

* * *

><p><em>Ten years ago was the time that the Nation lived in perfect peace and harmony. The Nations took only about thirty percent of the open space of the world, the rest left unexplored for the fear of the unknown. A peace treaty arranged in the land was followed cleanly, not even a hint of rebellious or violent activity in any of the land. Strong military divisions and trading companies were formed, schools were established separately for those who wished to be a part of the military and those who wished to take on a career such as a medic or a teacher. Large clans commuted through the expanse very often to spread their blood and peaceful word and not a single soul in the Nation was troubled.<em>

_In the Nation only, that is._

_It was when a group known as the Elders came upon the Nation from an unexplored area of the world. They proposed to the citizens that if they each nominated a member to lead a divided piece of land from the five of their group, they could be stronger and soon populate the whole world with their dark technology. The citizens never expected that they would be morning their decision._

_So successfully, the Nation was torn apart and divided into five Sectors, all of which were overpopulated._

_The citizens were ripped from their homes and families and randomly spread through whatever land that they got thrown in by the malicious robots known as Katons._

_One, which was given the title Otogakure and led by Orochimaru Sannin. It manufactured all weapons and artillery and still does to this day, whoever lives in it. One, which carried out all criminal and gangly activities, assassinations and assaults against the other Sectors and innocent citizens. _

_Two, which was given the title Sunagakure and dictated by Homura Mitokado. Two manufactured most goods and furniture and some landscaping supplies such as cement and sand. Its people were friendly and lucky._

_Three, Kirigakure. Kotaru Utatane. Three had absolutely no beneficial goods to the rest of the Sectors and its people were known for being unstable and rash._

_Four. Iwagakure was the worst of them all, torn from its roots by a psychotic Tobirama Senju. It was the brawl between Senju and Five that had the world crumbling even further than it already was. _

_Five, Konohagakure, a green land with plentiful resources and peaceful souls tortured by the Danzo Shimura. Its military was the strongest and largest, and it was a well-known fact that it was the landscape to live in and that it was overpopulated to over twice its capacity. _

_So the Elders, despite their differences and disagreements, decided to do something about that._

_They ripped ten percent of the military from each Sector and jammed them into flying contraptions that sent them to the opposite sides of the world. If they were strong and worthy enough, they would return alive. They slaughtered forty percent of citizens and burned their bodies and abandoned another twenty percent of citizens with the military. Left behind were only the powerful adolescents and strongest military members, children and senior citizens' ashes flying away with the wind. Most people who were disposed of in the wild died. All people who are in the wild and open are now wanted dead. Those strongest ones are still living, like survival groups here today. It is every man for himself, in a sense, and a group will only slow you down but you travel with one for the sake of company. There are bandit groups who use their women to lure men away from their camps and loot their supplies. There are spy groups from sector One who eliminate all humans they come across, and update hunter Katon bots scout the open land and incinerate every living thing it comes across. Now there are actual military groups that come from the Sectors to eliminate us with greater accuracy. _

_Sector Three used to be known as a refugee camp but it was discovered by a stray Katon and completely destroyed about two years ago. The word today is that abandoned military checkpoints are the place to be and left unsearched for a bug in the system that reports that they still have legal inhabitants. Of course, Five is an abandoned no-man's land, but it is too great of a risk to travel to it._

_One of those few military checkpoints is our only hope. If they are overrun by Sector officials, it's over. Completely and one hundred percent over. There is no more hope in this world except for the fact that you may find a recently expired can of beans in the middle of the road and loot it fast enough that a Katon doesn't shoot your ass. But if we can start some sort of new civilization, a new world, maybe even a new Nation, then there is hope. It would be an incredibly long shot, but it's worth it in this fucked up world, is it not?_

* * *

><p>Naruto pursed his lips at the seemingly new information Kakashi relayed to him a few hours ago, weakly chewing a piece of beef jerky.<p>

After the man had said the name Danzo, a man with a disapproving voice and bandages covering most of his face fluttered through his thoughts so fast he wasn't sure if he even remembered it. But, he remembered being the mere age of six in Konoha with the blurry faces of what looked like his friends. He recalled the word _academy _and gun marches and combat.

Naruto wanted to help these people. God, he wanted to help Kakashi who smiled even though he was in severe pain, who was friends with the old pervert. He wanted to help the bright Karin since he could just _tell _that she had such a bright future with her advanced medical knowledge and hunting skills. She was sharp and pretty and caring, fierce and burdened all at the same time. He wanted to help Juugo because the guy was in too much mental pain to speak but even a few words. He wanted to help Suigetsu because even though the boy fooled around and teased Karin into the dirt, he saw how the white haired boy would detachedly stare off at a certain point in the distance and heard the blandness in his insulting words sometimes. He wanted to help Itachi because he could tell all the harsh man wanted to do was protect his brother, and he knew absolutely nothing about the silent Sasuke.

_Sasuke._

Naruto looked up from the fire and across at Karin who was loudly snoring into a medical book about contagious diseases. The blonde smiled and looked beside him to where Sasuke had dozed off. His pink lips slightly fluttered in a word spoken in his dreams Naruto couldn't read. His neck was smooth and his stomach was flat and his figure was obviously well sculpted. Sasuke had long legs, was clad in dark clothes and had porcelain white skin with startling blue veins visible on the inside of his wrists. Naruto peeked at them a bit closer, noticing that they were _seriously_ blue and that the inside of his hands were just about stark white. He brushed his hand against his and his eyes widened at how cold they were. Kami, was Sasuke a bloodsucker or some shit?

Naruto shrugged off one of the three blankets Juugo had set atop him and draped it over Sasuke, pulling it up to under the boy's chin and getting onto his hands and knees.

He bit his lip as he sat on his haunches, his torn back quivering and maybe not really ready to support his body weight, but he wanted to stretch anyway. Karin gave a violent snore and slumped back on the log behind her. He chuckled before he painfully rose into a crouch and tried not to gasp when two of his ribs tangled together, standing up straight with a nasty wince on his face and his eyes burning. _Damn, damn, damn, that hurts!_

The blondbreathed slowly and looked down at the thick socks on his feet. He scrunched his nose as he noticed that his Timberlands had seemed to keep running away from Katons on their own and that his guns and shivs were missing from the pockets of his cargo pants and his flak jacket was nowhere to be seen. Naruto whined at the cold and wandered into the direction of the forest that everyone else had gone, faint light visible from the many tree branches.

He slowly maneuvered over stray pebbles and another strange Velcro sandal was randomly placed again. He picked it up and looked at the well-worn sole by thin toes and a highly arched foot and checked the size – eight and a half. It was presumably one of the guys', since Karin surely didn't wear nine and a half in women's sizes because she was a petite girl. He snickered as he thought of her wearing a large shoe size, waving it at a terrified Suigetsu who begged her not to smash him with it.

He kept the sandal in his hand and stepped in rhythm to Karin's snores towards the florescent light he could see just about ten feet in front of him. He curiously stepped into an opening that had a bright battery powered lantern in the center that was surrounded by five large tents and looked around for a familiar face- preferably Juugo or even Kakashi- and he was slammed against an oak tree. The little breath Naruto held wheezed from his mouth and his ribs cramped painfully before he was met with the mad eyes of one rabid looking Itachi. The man had sticks and leaves in his loose hair and his eyes were wide in rage as he squeezed Naruto's esophagus.

"_Why do you have Sasuke's shoe?"_ Was hotly rasped into his ear and Naruto tried to cringe away from the taller man and drag air back into his lungs. His arms flailed with the sandal still in his hand he tried to kick the man away when Itachi was ripped from him and his wrists held back by Kakashi, whose eyes were squinted in a smile.

"Resorting to violence, are we, Itachi?" Kakashi chuckled. Years of holding his temper and he had no trouble whatsoever containing the brunet. Itachi growled and fixed his eyes that nearly shone red in the moonlight on Naruto and spit again, "_Why do you have my brother's shoe?"_

Naruto held up the sandal, glanced at it, looked at Itachi, and looked back at the shoe. "Eh… I found it on the ground on the way here? The other one's by the fire?" He tried to smile at Itachi, but it only turned into a nervous grimace as Kakashi laughed and let the man's wrists go. Itachi stalked so fast towards Naruto that the blond swore he saw dirt flying behind him and violently snatched the sandal out of his grasp and struck him in the neck with it.

Naruto screeched and sprinted away from Itachi, screaming that he hadn't done anything wrong. He yelled for somebody, _anybody _to help him, screamed Juugo's name and ran into one of the tents to unexpectedly stomp on Suigetsu's stomach, who doubled up in pain and bellowed into Naruto's knee and punched Juugo in the chest, who roared and rose so quickly that his head ripped a whole in the top of the tent.

Kakashi's laughter could be heard echoing into the forest as Naruto cringed away from Itachi and his Death Sandal for the rest of the night.

The next morning resulted in an exclusively snappy Karin and everybody in the camp shying away from Kakashi's malicious glint in his mismatched eyes. Naruto thought he felt an apprehensive tension that everybody was displaying, but ignored it.

Naruto sat nestled in the corner farthest from Itachi and next to Suigetsu and Sasuke, picking at his ration of oatmeal. Last night Kakashi had asked him to sleep in the same tent as Sasuke, of which the matter Itachi was nearly foaming at the mouth with. Sasuke made very little (or you could call it absolutely no) conversation. The boy was obviously not a morning person as he glared at the beams of sunlight that made it through the tent's entrance flaps and rose out of his sleeping bag like a zombie, stepping all over Naruto's legs in the process.

He had just finished off his cup of stale oatmeal when Kakashi decided to open his mouth and made everybody but himself, Itachi, and Sasuke groan in distress.

"Maa, you all know what day it is," Kakashi scolded the group and stood up from his crouched position. "We can't leave without Kisame or Deidara, you hooligans."

"It's Loot Day!" Suigetsu spat at Kakashi's feet and chugged from a gallon's bottle of water.

"That it is," Kakashi replied and stuffed his hand in the pockets of his dark pants. "Every fourteen days we walk into the main road of town and loot the convenience stores for food and other supplies. Sometimes we'll be lucky enough to find a hospital and pick up medical supplies," he glanced at Karin and Sasuke. "Every thirty-one days we drive twenty miles south along the Fire River, clear the Katons and scouts within a few miles and search a certain radius for one of those checkpoints."

"Just tell us whose turn it is," Suigetsu slurred to Naruto's right and nudged him with his elbow. "Sure as hell it ain't me this time, went last time."

"Yes, that's why it's Sasuke's turn this time," Kakashi handed a few crumpled papers to the raven. "But we're sending our little Naru with him so he can get the point and main things to pick up." Sasuke scowled at the silver haired man and glared at his older brother who merely smirked at him while Karin approached Naruto. She grabbed his wrist and slipped her own paper into his rough hand. Naruto leant down a bit and she stood on the tips of her toes to whisper something in his ear, the blond nodding and slipping the paper into his pocket.

She was about to turn away when Naruto gave her a skittish poke in the middle of her back and she turned back to him, pushing her glasses farther up her nose and raising her scarlet eyebrows.

"Uh… hehe… well, do you- um… where do I find these?" He hurriedly whispered, the back of his neck slightly pink when he rubbed it with his hand.

Karin scoffed a "Figure it out, blondie!" and sunk down onto a log in front of the smoking remains of their little bonfire.

_Kami,_ Naruto thought to himself. _Why do the worst things happen to me?_

He frowned and turned to Kakashi and the pale brothers, noting how Kakashi looked sterner than usual and nodded along with what Itachi looked to be violently whispering down in his brother's face. Sasuke's arms were crossed and he scowled into the forest, not even sparing Itachi a glance as he was given the same speech for the hundredth time.

Naruto also noted that Sasuke's skin legitimately looked the color of porcelain, and probably paler than usual due to his soft black pants and long sleeved navy shirt. He had bandages weaved over his pants on top of his left hamstring and had the strange black sandals on from last night. The blond wondered why the pair was strewn randomly and could only conclude that he dropped them. They were open toed with a band around the top of his foot and encased his whole ankle and just a bit above.

He broke himself from his thoughts and strode to Kakashi, the man slightly turning to him and Itachi's voice faltering from his talking at Sasuke. "Can I at least have my shoes back?" Naruto whined at Kakashi. The man rose silver eyebrows at him. "Hmm, I forgot about them," Kakashi said and turned back to the main camp to emerge a few moments later with his beloved beat up Timberlands in hand.

Naruto bent over and jammed his right foot into one, and faltered when he stood up and saw the initials _GS _written on the tongue of the left one. Sea green eyes lined in black illuminated his mind and gazed at him like a cat. The image of the eyes backed out and minimized and his mind was filled with thin lips and a strange symbol when he registered Itachi's voice in his ear.

"_-got it?"_ the man spat in his ear, backing away and glaring at the blond.

Naruto glanced around at the faces and backs turned to him, blinking at the sun and turning to the brunet. "Huh?" He grunted.

"Dumbass." The brunet grumbled and stalked away to sit next to Juugo on a log.

He glanced right at deep obsidian eyes who were calculating him like that of an owl its prey. There was no expression on the defined and sharp features of Sasuke's face, but Naruto knew the guy was planning something in the back of his broody mind.

Kakashi shoved them both together and away from him and tossed them a few rounds of ammo. "Go now, before the scouts come out. Preserve bullets, got it?" He tossed a rifle at Sasuke who slung the strap of the gun on his shoulder and walked away from the pair, and a nearly empty gasoline tank to Naruto. The blond pouted as he realized he wasn't allowed a gun yet and pocketed the ammo for safekeeping. He wondered when he would get his own weapons and belongings back since his wallet wasn't even in his pocket and he knew he probably had some pictures of his past friends in there. The cash in it was just for comfort, papers Naruto found on the ground previously. Money didn't matter anymore. This world was about pure survival.

Sasuke turned to him and muttered a somewhat friendly "Let's go," and led him away from the camp.


	4. Looting and Losing

Chapter 3: Looting and Losing

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><p>The ground was still wet with rain and Naruto's boots sunk into it while Sasuke walked with lighter, more graceful steps, his feet not sinking into mud and just barely skimming the surface of the ground. They were walking through a clearing in the woods about a quarter mile from the main camp. It was humid and there were strange bugs flying around and making strange sounds and Naruto was just plain freaked out.<p>

Sasuke had made no attempt to start a conversation, sending out an unspoken rule that Naruto was supposed to trudge behind him and be silent.

Well, that wasn't really working out for Naruto.

He felt that it was instinct and start a conversation because he was becoming jittery from the grave silence and scuffed his foot into a particularly nasty patch of mud.

"So," he started, speeding his steps a bit so that he was a few feet behind the raven instead of ten. "How long is it to the 'main road'?"

Sasuke slightly turned his face towards Naruto and regarded him with a solid gaze and lifted a shoulder, fixing the strap of his rifle and gripping it tighter. "About two miles from here, hour trek."

Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and slithered a bit closer to Sasuke, becoming excited at getting a few words out of the boy. He noticed that the raven stood about five seven or five eight. "What is the main road? And what's the point of going?"

Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow and slowed down a bit so that they were walking side by side, the trees around them becoming more scarce and dead. "You really don't remember anything, do you? Not even long term memories?"

Naruto nodded and leant his head back, looking up at the dreary stormy sky. "I remember hair colors and I think a bit of my military days, but that's about it. And a lot of the things I do feel like instinct, so I think I'm acting the same way I did… before?" He grunted at his own confusion. He really wished he could remember what kind of person he was. "Hey, I asked you what the main road was and why we're going. Don't change the subject, you sly dog."

The raven nodded and gripped Itachi's rifle a bit closer to his side, eyeing the scratched-out family crest carved into the black wood. In all honesty, the members of his camp weren't sure that they could trust the blond that Sasuke had lugged from the main street. He could be a spy, or a bandit, sending out messages to his former camp members with his stupid glazed-eyed dazes into the sun and loud snor…es. Sasuke scrunched his nose and tried to stop turning into Itachi.

"The main road is part of what Five left behind when they were destroyed by One about two years ago. There are department stores, convenience stores, schools, hospitals, gas stations left behind… supplies. When the weather changes like this, we get blankets and heavier clothing. When it gets hotter, lighter clothing and shorts for Karin. Food and water from convenience stores, first aid kits. Gun shops are untouched by bandits, so we scavenge the ammo and pick up extra guns and knives. Paper from schools for personal loot runs, educational books for leisure. The water still runs in those schools, so when we find a hospital, we take all of the camp with us and bathe in the locker rooms. When we find a hospital, we pick up medicine, advanced supplies, let Karin go nuts in it… we try to stay close enough to the road in case one of us gets severely injured and we need to go to one of them. Fill up that tank when we come across a gas station," Sasuke tilted his head down at the red can in Naruto's grasp. "Take the most important and minimal amount for travel."

Naruto nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "And those… Katons? Scouts? What do you do about them? Shoot them? Take 'em hostage?"

The raven's steps faltered a bit and he turned more of his body to Naruto, noticing pale collarbones and a bruise on the back of his hand resting on the Blaser. "We're not fucking bandits. Deactivate the Katons. Stab the scouts. Hope you don't mind gore because there's one behind us."

The blond's whole body froze and he felt the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand up. _Who?_ Sasuke pressed ashiv into his sweaty palm and shoved him to the ground. "What? Wait- Sas-_wait!_" But it was too late; the raven had jogged to the east into a thick patch of trees and was no longer visible.

Naruto tensed up and turned a full 360, raising the clothed and battered handle of the shiv to his chest and fell into a defensive stance.

Indeed, there was another presence in the forest, closing in at an alarming rate behind him. Naruto quickly turned and sent his foot crashing into the gut of a slim man with long brown hair and pale eyes. The man was sent tumbling a few feet back but quickly righted himself, setting his palms in a strange formation and opening his mouth as if he were about to say something.

"Where were-" he panted, but was quickly silenced with a dull whoosh and the splattering of blood on the folded grass below their feet.

Naruto lamely watched as the man who made something in the back of his mind crawl and wriggle sink to the ground, a fine bullet hole in his back and obviously through his heart. Blood was seeping into his white shirt around the hole, wetting his long hair and slowly expanding to his shoulder blades.

_Am I slow or is everybody else just too fast, _Naruto thought to himself, turning around when an angry pair of footsteps made their way to him.

"What the hell were you doing?" Before the blond knew it, Sasuke was shoving his finger into his neck and robbed Naruto of his breath. He hunched over and coughed but when he tried to inhale the only thing he got was the metallic scent of blood and petrichor. His eyes watered and he stared at the raven's toned calves through his pants.

"What the hell do you mean, what am _I _doing? You're the one who shoved me as bait for that guy!" Naruto rasped and stood back up, glaring at the pale boy.

"Yes, _what were you doing_," Sasuke hissed and snatched the shiv away from Naruto's grasp. "You were _obviously _supposed to run the opposite way as me when I gave this to you." The raven glared at him and shoved the knife into his weapons belt. "Maybe you really got yourself knocked stupid."

"How the hell was I supposed to know that?" Naruto growled and tried to rival Sasuke's glare. "Maybe a 'Run!' woulda' helped, instead of shoving me to the ground and running away from me." He crossed his arms.

Sasuke broke eye contact and looked into the trees, thinning his lips and setting the R8 back onto his shoulder. "Whatever. Let's just go." He turned back to where he had shot the long haired man and prepared to take a step, but the sight was what stopped him from taking it.

There was a large pool of blood on the ground, marled from body weight and steam rising from the cold. The body was gone.

In the place where the dead man had been was a message written in his own blood:

_We're coming for you, Naruto._

* * *

><p>Sasuke was in a noticeably worse mood when they were a visible distance away from the main road.<p>

He was jogging in front of Naruto again, refusing to speak to the blond and too eager to get away from him.

_We need to disband soon, _the raven thought to himself. _His group has found him, and I'm sure that when they pinpoint him they'll ransack us and gut us. _

Behind him, Naruto stared at the back of his spiky hair and wondered why the raven wouldn't speak to him. He was just beginning to enjoy the boy's presence…

Sasuke suddenly skidded to a stop and turned his whole body towards Naruto, spooking the blonde and almost ramming into him. He tilted his head downwards to the raven, wondering if he was going to say anything.

Sasuke glanced around them as they were a few feet away from the paved street, the beginnings of abandoned cars just becoming prominent as they neared the city. "You," he murmured, "stay close." He turned and stalked between a few dirt-covered cars, feeling along the side of a cement building and peeking his head out into the main street.

What greeted his dark eyes were destroyed pieces of white, shiny material and hundreds of long steel contraptions that looked like bent fingers spread like hay across the pavement of the street. There was blood on some of the shiny material and even a few body parts variously spread and singed throughout the chaos. There were random clothes and cans of food, dead bugs and rotting carcasses and skeletons of animals and people sprinkled across the icing of white metal and broken Katon legs. He envisioned one of those spider-like white robots, with its analyzing electric blue eyes and guns poised and ready at its side, standing about five feet tall and one hundred percent deadly.

It looked like the area had already been cleaned of the spiders, and Sasuke wondered who by. He stepped into the middle of the street and nearly onto a frozen blue hand and waited for the robots to take the bait.

Nothing happened.

Sasuke picked up a large chunk of metal and threw it across the street to hit a brick building, the loud pang of metal echoing through the streets and ringing in his ears.

"The fuck are you doing?" Naruto hissed from his crouched position beside a car, beckoning for Sasuke to come back with his gas tank.

Nothing emerged from the shadows of alleys and nobody resurrected from the sewer holes in the street. He jogged towards a school district and expected Naruto to follow close behind, readying the rifle and crouching behind the wooden fence of a playground that had blood splattered through its protective rubber mulch and red smudges on its equipment. Sasuke spared the sight a remorseful glance and hopped the fence onto a cement walkway that led to an exit of the elementary school. He heard Naruto fall on his ass behind him but quickly recover and deemed him an acceptable travel partner.

The raven tried the double glass doors of the school but they wouldn't budge. He cupped his hands around his eyes and peeked into them, seeing a flickering green exit sign at the opposite end of the hall and illuminating spread papers and school supplies on the ground.

He sighed and stepped a few paces away to scavenge for a different entrance when he heard a grunt, a screech of metal and the shattering of glass behind him. He whirled around and snapped the safety off the rifle and cocked its round ready. Blue eyes were glowing in the dark at him, but not those made of LEDs. Naruto grinned from inside the school, broken glass shattered all around him and some still breaking off from the door and crackling on the ground. "Come on, bastard!"

Sasuke clicked the safety back on and inspected the shattered glass on the ground about four feet in diameter from the door to the inside of the school. He used the rifle mouth to clear jagged glass from the frame of the door and set his hand on it, lugging himself over and readying to steady his feet on broken glass when Naruto reached out and grabbed him by the torso to set him on the clear tile floor beside him, still looking as happy as he did when he broke that door. The raven gave him a startled look.

"You're wearing open shoes," the blond pointed out, scratching the back of his neck and giving him a shy grin.

Sasuke mentally scolded himself for being so brash when he realized he could have cut his feet and lost… blood…

The raven nodded his thanks and turned to the four way in front of them, looked up at the signs written in scribbly type that was appealing to children. In front of them was _Gym _and _Sensei Asuma, Sensei Anko, _and _Nurse. _To the left of them was _Computer Lab _and _Principals Office _and to the right was _Supplies Room _and _Janitor's. _Sasuke beckoned with his right hand for Naruto to follow him to the nurse's office, their footsteps crunching on crayon drawings of children's families and pets and their misspelled scribbled words of favorite foods and sports. The exit sign in front of them flickered and left them in the dim outside light for a few moments but quickly bathed them in green again.

The raven skimmed his hand along a wall and felt a doorknob, barely making out the plate of "NURSE" and pushing the door open.

The office was clean and untouched, a leather bed with clean paper still rolled on top of it. There were a few health documents splayed on the ground and various signs of _Wash your hands! _and _Beware of flu season! _as well as posters about ADHD and diabetes and seizures.

He let Naruto ruffle through the desk of the former nurse. The blond tossed him a key lanyard and he turned and tried the first one on the loop to a tall supply cabinet, successfully opening it and gazing at the minor first aid supplies.

Painkillers, bandages, ointments and rash creams. Prescription medications and extra pairs of students' glasses. He pocketed a few Epi-pens for Juugo who was allergic to bees and nuts, burn ointments for Itachi who seemed to always let himself get singed by Katons and an extra eye patch for Kakashi whose blind eye would get sensitive. Naruto tossed him a medical book about non-contagious diseases and Sasuke was pleased to find out it was one of the few Karin didn't have in her general collection.

"Let's move," he grunted to the blond. He nodded and followed him to the door closest to them, pushing it open from the inside and wandering into a street of equal chaos as the first one.

Naruto let out a low whistle and crossed his arms. "This looks pretty recent, doesn't it? Ya think some other group came through and cleared it?"

The raven nodded to the blonde, but scowled a bit. "Yeah, but that doesn't explain why they left most of these buildings untouched." He flicked his head towards a department store with browned blood on its glass windows and pure white adult bones spread in front of it.

Naruto tightened his fists as they walked across the street, stepping on crunching metal and skirting around pale body parts and random objects. Sasuke seemed unaffected by this, but then again, he should be, too.

They kicked bones from under their feet and Sasuke wrenched open the rusted door of the department store, picking up a thick tibia bone and setting it parallel from the entrance doors so that one of them was still open. They stepped in to the musty smell of stale cloth and still leather.

Naruto looked around and they both headed to the home section, picking out a few heavy blankets and stuffing them into the pack on Sasuke's back. Sasuke bent over and picked up a large box, a picture of a laughing family inside a green tent on it. "Needed an extra tent. Suigetsu told me that Juugo tore a hole through the top of the other one." He stated and handed it to Naruto, turning to a clothing section.

Naruto snickered a bit and tucked the box under his arm.

They ended up with no clothing since they figured that everybody already had enough. Naruto led the way this time outside and kicked the tibia bone from the doors, spotting a road sign with a large _H_ that pointed down the street. He nodded to the sign and asked Sasuke if they should visit it.

"No," Sasuke said. "We'll send Karin and Juugo later."

Naruto nodded and led the way to a gas station that had a Ton-Mart next to it. "Wanna separate? I'll gas up for a few minutes and meet you back in that grocery store." He fondled the crumpled paper that Karin had given him in his pocket, planning to sneak so Sasuke wouldn't have to know what he was getting.

The raven gave him a hard look. "Yeah. You're on your own, I'm sure that it's safe around here though. Don't try to run off or pull any funny shit."

Naruto held up his hands and gave the boy an innocent look. They turned away from each other, Naruto jogging to a gas pump and punching in a few numbers to get it going.

Sasuke stepped through the broken doors of the Ton-Mart, looking around at its stocks. A good fraction of the store was still here, but he could tell other groups had been through from the rummage and dirty pieces of clothing on the floor.

He impatiently walked to a certain section of the store, pocketing medicinal supplies and stray food. Damn, some group really had been through here.

He stepped into the section that he was looking for, thankful he had let Naruto part off so he wouldn't need to see what Sasuke needed.

The raven didn't look up from his feet, preparing to reach out and stuff bottles into his pack, but froze when his arm encircled nothing but air and brushed against dust.

His eyes widened and he backed away from the shelf, afraid to look up from his feet and see what was making his blood turn cold and his toes curl in remorse.

He risked a glance up and gasped at what assaulted his eyes.

Empty shelves.

He whirled around to the neighboring shelf, seeing that that was empty also and let his jaw weaken.

He looked up at the sign that announced what contents were in each aisle, jogging around to the next, the next, the next shelf and the one after and before those.

_Fuck._

_Fuck!_

Sasuke ran back to his starting point, eyes scanning the empty floor for anything at all. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

His first thought was that he was fucked. His second, more rational round of thinking, told him to just head to the hospital without Karin and scavenge there. His third, irrational layer of thinking, lashed out at the others like him and he grit his teeth in anger.

Before he could register what he was doing, he yelled and butted the shelf towering over his head so that it fell back and hit the next empty shelf, empty shelf, empty shelf, and full shelf. He growled when he heard pills racing across the tile floor. Him. It just _had _to be him, didn't it?! Bottles breaking and cardboard tearing filled his ears when shoved the shelf behind him to send it into another domino reaction. He panted in anger, kicked the damn shelf and sent it scooting a few inches and fumed at the day-old dark puddle of piss in front of a prescription desk to his left. Lying in it was a large piece of salmon that had a smiley face with gills cut into it.

Damn _animals, _Sasuke spat in his mind. _I told Itachi we couldn't trust them, we couldn't fucking trust them! _He spat on the floor and clenched his fists, picking up Itachi's rifle. He looked for something else to take his rage out on but was met with empty shelves and floors that infuriated him even further. _Fucking cunts! _He growled in his mind. _I _will _gut them. I'll make jewelry of their intestines and roast their skin and use his hair as fucking floss and piss on them!_

Just a few aisles away from such an angry aura like nuclear energy that he failed to notice, Naruto awkwardly stood in front of a wall with a piece of paper in his sweaty palms.

Karin had drawn a little demon face and wrote to get the fuck over it on the paper under her requests.

Naruto felt a cold bead of nervous sweat trickle down his temple as his poor eyes roamed over titles of various boxes with smiling girls on them that seemed to be laughing at him. Why him? Why not Sasuke?

He looked back at the paper, and then back at the titles of some of the boxes and squinted at the titles. He set the gas tank on the ground and picked up two of the boxes.

The blond stared at them and weighed them in each hand. _What's the difference between maxi and super maxi? _He wandered to himself.

Suddenly, an angry roar made him clutch the boxes to his pecs and he saw about five aisles to the right of him go down like sumo fighters. His jaw dropped as he heard another grunt and the aisles to the left of him went down like dominos and smashed boxes and various food juices spread on the ground.

His eyes tracked slowly to where the aisles had originally fallen, blinking like an owl when he saw the dark haired culprit panting with his fists coiled and his teeth bared.

The raven raised dark, glaring eyes eyes to his own startled blue and roved to the boxes he still held in front of his chest, black eyebrows untangling from each other and nearly rising into his hairline.

Naruto quickly shoved the rectangular boxes into the larger pockets of his cargo pants on the sides of his calves. He stood up and fixed Sasuke with a smoldering blue glare and grumbled, "Not a word."

Sasuke smirked, stood up straight, and nodded his head toward the exit of the store.

* * *

><p>AN: Hi readers! Thanks for your lovely reviews, they really spur me on. Sorry if my writing's a bit off today, I had a dream that I went into labor and my boyfriend didn't show up. I have a fear of pregnancy and I've been spooked all day. o.e On a more positive note, hope you guys liked this chapter and I'll try to update regularly through school.


	5. Old Oxygen

Chapter 4: Old Oxygen

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><p>Naruto followed Sasuke to the exit of the Ton-Mart, quickly glancing over his shoulder to see if anything caught his attention that they might need. The place was already pretty trashed before the bastard had gone and knocked about ten aisles over, broken Benadryl bottles and the like shattered all over the floor. Variously colored medicinal liquids crossed each other's boundaries and formed to emit a strong aroma of alcohol that made his throat warm and his nose tickle. He noted that a <em>lot <em>of those knocked over shelves were empty. He narrows his eyes at those aisles and wondered what triggered Sasuke's temper. Damn if he was going to ask, though. He'd get his head bitten off if he did. The blond snatched a recently expired box of cookies off the floor to nibble on for the long trek back.

He regarded the pale boy with a bit of fear as he was still stalking over broken glass and skin swatches without any hesitance, shoulders tense and his hand turning even whiter on the base of his rifle. Naruto had grown slightly fond of Sasuke's silent companionship, and sometimes the boy would let rip a sarcastic, sharp comment that had the blond sucking in his cheeks to keep from laughing.

He matched his steps with the raven's and pulled up right next to him. "Hey, Sasuke," he said in a slightly wavering voice. He wasn't sure if trying to talk to the boy was a very good idea right now, especially since his breathing seemed to be heavier than normal judging by the large clouds of mist that escaped his straight nose.

"What," Sasuke grumbled and switched the Blaser to the shoulder facing Naruto.

The blond gulped and stuffed his hands into his pockets, bunching the thick material in his fingers. He could ask about the history of this world, or what would they do if a big group of bandits came to their camp, or if he was staying permanently or-

"How old are you?" he blurted, biting his tongue immediately after and made a face at his boots. The yellow shoes were singed in some areas, brown with blood in others, and slightly grey looking with dirt.

"Why?" The raven snapped and tossed the pack higher on his back, contemplating on shoving it at Naruto since his shoulders were becoming sore.

"Geez. Just asking. You don't-"

"Sixteen," he grumbled, knowing that the blonde was probably a few years older than him.

"Really?" Naruto's voice rose. He was sure that the shorter boy was a few years older than him, but they were the same age! "Me, too! When were you born?"

Sasuke let an eyebrow rise in his only sign of surprise. "Yes. In July."

Naruto pouted and kicked at a stray piece of metal as they neared a gun shop with its glass doors shattered open. "Aw. My ID said I was born in October, so you're three months older than me," he drawled and accidentally stepped on a tuft of dry brown hair.

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence at what Naruto figured was the ID part of his statement. _Damn,_ he thought. _Smooth fucking moves. _He swallowed the lump of awkwardness in his throat and tried to mentally wave through the air that was hazy with hesitance.

"Do you remember what Sector you were from?" He mumbled near Sasuke's ear, startling the raven with his proximity. When had he gotten that close?

Sasuke nodded and attempted to focus his blurred vision. "One. Oto," he drew in a large breath of air after his statement. "Itachi got us out of there."

They were in front of the gun shop now, obvious signs of struggle held within. The store was set up in a square with three long shelves lining its walls, the wall on their standing side being a display wall with old range records and animal heads. A great deal of guns from shattered display cases were missing and some even spread on the ground. There were a few intimidating, thick butcher knives imbedded deeply into the thin walls of the small shop.

Naruto dropped the topic for a few moments and let go a long, low whistle. Sasuke grunted in reply and stepped over broken glass, producing a small piece of paper from his pocket and tearing it in half. "You go get this half," he ordered and handed the blond a piece of shredded paper, "and I go get this half," he held it up to his own eyes. "We have enough guns so it's only ammo. You best not pull any shit and take a gun or a Swiss knife," the raven lowered the piece of paper and gave him a hard look.

The blond stuck his tongue out at the boy and shuffled to the inside part where cashiers stood in the display case. He eyed the labels on palm-sized boxes of pellets and plastic bullets, numbers and huge skin rippers. He eyed the extra calibers and personalized barrels randomly placed throughout the section and he finally found the right rounds for the famous rifle.

Across the room, Sasuke squinted at some fancy knives with silver engraved handles and wondered why there was any concern about how pretty a weapon was. A knife was a knife, and a gun was no different from a gold one. He pocketed a few rounds of bullets for their handguns and a large amount for his sniper back at camp. When a box with flames and promises of "settin' the doves aflame" caught his eye, he was shortly reminded of the time Itachi had come across a patrol officer's flamethrower. He slightly winced. Long story short, Karin had to punch his brother in the balls to let go of their gasoline tank.

He kicked a cheap handgun aside and strolled to the front of the store. "Ready?" He called to the blond who seemed to be in another universe judging by the hands in his pockets and glazed eyes.

Blue eyes dazedly locked on his and a blond head was shook of its thoughts. Naruto grunted and trudged out of the shop, took a heavy step over shattered glass and metal.

They walked peacefully back into the dead forest splotched with green. A mist was gently showering from the grey sky and made Naruto's neck and arms cold.

Naruto hummed and crossed his arms behind his bandaged head. He racked his brain for something to keep his mind running and decided to ask the questions that had been bothering him most. "So, Itachi. Why's he such an arse? N' how old is he? Seems to be twenty-somethin'." He slurred, not sure why it was so natural to let his tongue be so lazy around the meticulous Sasuke, whom he witnessed packing things by size in their pack.

Sasuke sighed and shouldered the pack again, knowing they had a great deal of supplies and were set for a good three weeks with it. They'd had to trek back here with the whole group since it was the best town he'd come across so far, untouched and free of Katons. "Yeah, yeah, I know it. He's just too paranoid even though most people out here are dead. We only even come across bandits once in a blue moon. Heard about that shit he pulled on you last night, Suigetsu told. And he's twenty one." He finally unbuckled the chest clasp on the pack and turned his back to Naruto's side, knowing the blond would get the message. He lugged it off with his left hand and shoved it into the boy's chest.

"Ow," the blond grunted, ribs still slightly sore. He shrugged on the pack that felt like it had another fucking Kakashi in it. "Damn," he grunted again. "Do we really need all this?"

"Yes." Came the clipped reply from Sasuke, whom carried his rifle along the length of his arm now. Naruto sighed and carried on his attempted conversation.

"Well, why's he gotta be so paranoid? He yelled at me for havin' your shoe, for Kami's sake."

Sasuke crossed his arms and faced him, walking backwards and raised a fine brow. "Why _did _you have my shoe?"

Naruto growled as he didn't see what the big fucking deal about having a damn sandal in his hand was. "Well, I found it on the damn ground and picked it up 'cause it was weird looking! You had 'em in random places, too." He eyed the raven's toned triceps and how they flexed when the boy dropped his arms back to his sides. Sasuke rolled his eyes and fell back beside him again. "They only weigh a few ounces. Better for running. Not like those monsters you wear that probably weigh a pound each."

"These are good for running, too. Probably got a greater range of terrain than those you're wearin'."

Sasuke ignored him and relaxed his shoulders a bit, appreciating the blond's light conversation and cheery personality. It was a great change from the grim ones back at camp, also made dreary by his brother.

They were well into the forest now, getting closer to where he had shot that guy with white eyes. The raven didn't let the bloodred message bother him too much, figuring that worrying was left for Kakashi.

He sighed held up the Itachi's rifle with two hands, admiring its black wood detail and deadly accuracy. It had a great weight and nearly no recoil.

Naruto glanced over at the M8 as well, the shine of the scope catching his eye. "That yours?"

"Itachi's."

"Ah," he blurted, his mouth going on autopilot when a feeling of nostalgia and fondness washed over his body. "Looks nice. I like those, they got nearly-"

He clutched his head when a pulse of memory assaulted his conscience, his skull becoming hot and searing with pain as he watched a fuzzy image of combat boots trekking through and splattering mud on waxed white marble floors. He heard a gruff voice yelling in the background, not able to make out the words but its baritone piercing his ears. His vision was shaky and he saw the butt of a gun swinging by his hip, a tanned man with two red triangles on his cheeks waving his arm like a madman at him and beckoning to go hisway. By the man's hip was a Blaser M8, hitting his side as he jogged away from a completely white room and yelled agitatedly at a few other men.

Sasuke's voice sounded like he was underwater and the raven was calling to him from the surface. "-uto. Naruto!" there was a cold hand on his shoulder with an iron grip. The memory faded away as quickly as it had appeared. Shaken, he focused on the pale, muscular arm and oddly shaped bruise on its wrist.

He stood up straight and blinked at the other boy, not sure what to feel about his memory. His eyes burned and his head ached and his blood felt like molasses in his veins. "I'm fine," he said, scratching the palm of his hand and watching his racing pulse at a tan wrist. "Just remembered something, that's all."

Dark, narrow eyes carefully gazed at him and he couldn't help but admire that they looked like melted obsidian. "What was it?"

"Nothing important, I don't think," the blond said distractedly. He relayed the memory to the raven, nodding here and there and who also deemed it unimportant.

"But you should still tell Karin," he advised when they started moving again, this time a bit faster. "She's planning to get you to a hospital. Not sure what tests she'll run, though." Sasuke had been wanting to get to a hospital also, hopefully getting what he needed done while Karin ran those specific tests.

Naruto noticed the ache in his bones and the emptiness in his ribs for the first time. He felt the mental pull of… _missing_ something, or somebody, or some people. He felt like he should be worried about something judging by the tension in his shoulders and the locks in his knuckles, the furrow in his brow and the clenching of his jaw he hadn't realized was there before. What he felt… was that apprehension? Was something going to happen?

Naruto cleared the mental mist of his thoughts and grunted an affirmative. The blonde tried to cheer up and made eye contact with his companion. "Hey, where'd she get her medical knowledge anyway?"

Sasuke looked into the trees and took a few moments to remember the girl's past. "Got put in medic training as soon as she was able to talk. Advanced knowledge comes from the books we give her," he nodded to the pack. "There's only a few things she hasn't done on us yet, like major surgery or take off a limb."

Naruto let a small smile appear on his face when he pictured the redhead going nuts on Suigetsu. "Is she our age?" He said softly, knowing he would be admiring her sharpness even more if she was.

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded, letting his face soften with the thought of his faithful childhood friend. "She's a month older than me. Suigetsu and Juugo are our age, too. Kisame and Deidara-" he paused in his speech, nostrils flaring at the thought of Kisame and his turning against them. He had always known that the group couldn't trust those two, but Itachi had insisted that his childhood friends meant no harm with their violent actions towards the younger of the group. Now it was up to the raven whether they stayed or not. Leave it to the pair to indirectly harm his brother by endangering him, in ways that were never obvious and always hazardous or deadly.

"Wow. Guess Itachi tugged the lot of you kids with him, huh? And how'd you come across Kakashi?" Naruto had sensed the tense vibe coming from the raven when he mentioned these Deidara and Ki-whatever people. That was a probably a subject best for later.

"No. It was just me and Itachi for a long while. We came across Juugo and Karin in the partial ruins of One – maybe when I was about eleven - and we found Suigetsu floating in a river."

The two had completely straight faces before they turned into each other and burst into guffaws from Naruto and a few snorts from Sasuke.

Naruto set his hands on his hips as he laughed into the setting sun. "Damn, does that sound right. Saw him chug that whole gallon bottle in nearly one go this morning."

That comment earned a chuckle from the raven and after that, they focused on the moist grass of the ground. They were about ten more minutes away from the camp, and Sasuke couldn't wait to show up Itachi that Naruto wasn't a bandit or a killer through that he had not tried to kill Sasuke nor rob him of their weapons and supplies.

"But," the raven started, waving the unpleasant thought of Suigetsu away. "Kakashi was alone and walked straight into our camp like he owned it about a year and a half ago. Said we were too obvious and he tracked us from ten miles away, and that he didn't understand why a fleet of Katons hadn't ambushed us. He's been the unofficial leader ever since."

Naruto nodded in amusement as he thought of the silver haired man's obvious air of authority. Cold winter air squeezed through the thick branches of the forest and curled around the both of them.

"Geez," Naruto crossed his arms and hunched his back. "What month is it?"

Sasuke paused and looked into the purple sky. "I'd say it's January. Haven't seen a calendar in a while."

A comfortable silence loomed over the two of them for some long moments, fatigue sinking into their bones. Their footsteps were slow and gentle, crunching on dead leaves left from autumn. Naruto ran a hand through his hair, wincing as his fingers caught in marls and tugged them free.

"Are we gonna head back and use one of those locker rooms you spoke of in a few days?" Naruto asked, hoping that they could. When he would sleep, he sometimes caught a few bad (_bad) _whiffs of himself. There was a stream by camp but it was halfway frozen through and surely by tonight it would be thick enough to skid around on.

"Yeah. Hit the hospital, too. Probably tomorrow or even the day after," Sasuke quietly replied and curled his cold fists in his pant pockets.

"Hm. Why do you guys need so much medical supplies? From what I saw and heard you bunch barely ever get touched," he mused and tilted his head to the side.

There was a brief, nearly tense pause and a visible furrowing of the raven's brows.

"Just a precaution."

Naruto tightened his lips and nodded, seeing that there was nothing more to be asked or said.

* * *

><p>When they finally returned to camp, the air was like Goliath had finally been slain or the murderer had finally been captured by the law.<p>

Karin had gotten in his face long enough to understand that Naruto was to give her the _requests _she made

The glare on Itachi's face had lessened a fraction of a degree and Kakashi smiled a bit brighter. Karin regarded him for a bit longer through the glare of her glasses through the fire and Suigetsu set his shrugged arm closer to Naruto on their log. Juugo poked the fire's embers a bit closer to his feet with a small stick and Sasuke acted like he always had.

They ate from plastic bowls of canned soup that Juugo had calmly poured and sipped on paper cups of stale cider. Itachi had tugged his younger brother back to the tent area and all was silent as the rest of the group was in contemplative silence.

Karin snorted and tossed her head back. "Man, I wish we still had bedtime stores around."

Suigetsu obnoxiously spat by her hip and spread his legs a bit wider on the ground. "Damn if we need those pussy lullabies," he grunted, "could sleep with several Katons on my ass."

Something tugged inside of the blonde when he heard Suigetsu arrogant comments and impolite slurs. He was just about to open his mouth and say something when he heard a loud rustling from Kakashi's side of the fire and turned his attention to the leader of the camp.

Kakashi produced from his thick vest a bright orange book and flipped to a dog eared page, clearing his throat and settling in his seat a bit more comfortably.

Complaints and Suigetsu's curses sounded out around all of them while Naruto threw his plastic bowl at Kakashi's head and Juugo gave the man a disapproving grimace. Karin scrunched her red nose and stood up, wiping dead grass from the backs of her thighs and tying her spiky red hair in a long ponytail.

"I'll take first watch, Kakashi," she announced. "I won't be tired for a few more hours anyway."

The silver haired man nodded and directed his amused stare to Suigetsu. "You'll be taking second and third watch, Sui - punishment for your especially inappropriate behavior today," he chided and squinted his eyes closed in a smile.

Suigetsu loudly groaned and flopped on his stomach, crushed his paper cup in his fist and continued to throw a fit by rolling around and threatening to drench out the fire with his piss.

Naruto chuckled a bit and settled a bit lower on the log he was leaning on. Overall, it had been a pretty good and interesting day and it had led to sore muscles and exhaustion for him. The air was dry and cold now, his slowing breaths coming in light puffs in front of his eyes as he wrapped himself in a blanket and let his eyes slip shut.

Behind the tents was held a debate – or was it a conversation? – between the two pale brothers.

"I still don't believe you, outoto," the elder murmured, hand on the pistol in his belt loop.

Sasuke pushed some of his bangs behind his ear and adopted a tenser stance, crossing his arms and setting his mouth a bit tighter. "Then tell me," he bit out, knowing that if he raised his voice he would lose all credibility to Itachi, "why would _every last one of them_ be gone? Everything that had to do with them, gone? There was a whole salmon on the ground, Itachi. _A whole salmon. _You and hell know Kisame's capable of that."

"Anybody can fish, Sasuke. I'm well aware that you weren't fond of either of them-"

"Nobody in this camp was _fond _of them, Itachi. And for how much you cared about it in the past, you sure as hell don't seem like you're giving a fuck about it right now. Two weeks,Itachi. _Two whole weeks. _Two whole weeks without them, you ass. They're probably moving ahead of us and wiping the rest of them out to-"

A sharp sound echoed throughout the clearing, Sasuke's eyes glazing over when he stared at the buzzing yellow lantern for a few moments. His cheek stung and his left eye slightly watered when he caressed his own cheek with a ginger thumb. The raven felt blood hotly rise to his skin and tried to rid the hurt look to his brother, forcing apathy to his eyes and biting the tip of his tongue.

This time, his brother's voice was raised and commanding, unrelenting and unforgiving. "Then you should have looked for them more carefully. Tell me, Sasuke, did you search every inch of that store? Did you even bother to check other shelves around you before you so foolishly lashed out? This problem _will _be fixed by tomorrow. It's as simple as checking a pharmacy and that hospital. For the second time in a short span," Sasuke cringed with embarrassment when he realized that if they listened closely, the members at the fire would be able to decipher his words, "_I thought I raised you better than this._"

"They're trying to hurt you," Sasuke rasped and stepped closer to his brother so that he was looking into bagged eyes and long bangs. "They're trying to hurt all of us." He was slightly lightheaded and he stepped back again, evening his breathing and trying to relax his wired body before he hurt himself.

"You look pale," Itachi turned his back to him. "Go eat."

"Not until you listen to me," Sasuke called and clenched his fists when his brother's worst glare was directed to him. It was the kind directed to government officials, references of family, and a certain blond.

"You will eat."

"I will die."

This time, Itachi pivoted his whole body to his little brother and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"_You will not. _This is why we have the boy you found. He will help you whether he is willing or to be sedated."

"Now," Itachi murmured, dragging Sasuke by the front of his shirt to press their foreheads together. "Tomorrow, you _will _go to the pharmacy and scavenge all you can. Tomorrow, you _will _set foot in that hospital whether it has the right equipment or not. And tomorrow, you _will _take from that boy what you brought him here for. He is not your playmate, he is not your friend, he is not your partner, and he certainly is not your team member. He is a source, an outlet. You _will _remember that. If you don't," Itachi made sure to scrape his nails on Sasuke's chest enough to peel dry skin but not bleed. "I will make sure you will never be provided with such luxuries again."

Itachi shoved Sasuke against a tree hard enough to make him grunt and stalked off towards the campfire.

The raven smoothed his crumpled shirt and felt tired enough to collapse right then and there. He slightly panted when he became dizzy and his mouth dry. His brother was lashing out much more than before and it was beginning to startle him. He bent over to switch off their electric lantern and readied for slumber.

Behind a tree some ten feet away, a pair of blue eyes squeezed themselves shut.

* * *

><p>AN: Hi guys! I had a lot of free time this week so this chap was written. Putting some action in here quick, next chapter. And I'd like to ask those of you who plan to drop a review one question: What do you think's up with Sasuke? I dropped maybe a few vague hints, but I feel like the rat's out. That may just be me. Anyway, please review and I'll try to update on the weekend!


	6. New Stream

Chapter 5: New Stream

* * *

><p>Sixty-four miles away, a large congregation of a group was huddled around a campfire, a female figure being in the center and more commanding than any of the males in the group could ever hope to be.<p>

"Thank you," the girl said, and held out a piece of cloth to a brown haired boy with a white dog happily panting away on his lap. "For letting me borrow Akamaru."

Kiba Inuzuka gave the girl a grim nod and roughly patted his military issue mutt on the back.

There was nearly visible tension in the air as everyone was waiting for the slender girl in front of the crackling hearth to deliver long-awaited news. She had left the camp a bit under a week ago on a quest to track a certain, meddling, _idiotic _someone whom had gone missing.

Whether that certain someone extricated himself from the group, they didn't know, but his close friend had been there to (rather monosyllably) assure the survivors that the boy wouldn't run away and was probably licking his wounds somewhere nearby.

Ino Yamanaka, military medic and former general, had gathered her pretty self, a piece of the castaway's ratty blue shirt, and a dog she had worked well with in her previous years together to form her own search team. The woman worked best by herself and worst with the pink-haired stuck-up pushy brat that was sitting directly in front of her and chewing her nails.

The blonde looked across the congregation. Gaara Suna, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga and the injured form of her cousin Neji, Sakura Haruno, Sai whom revealed nothing but his love for high end art supplies and male anatomy, Tenten Kunai, Rock Lee, Jiraiya Sannin and Tsunade Senju all looked at her with expressions nothing short of concerned and saddened.

Ino sighed and sank down onto the ground to balance on her haunches, an overly dramatic gasp piercing the air in front of her.

"I- is he…" a female, broken voice just barely brushed the oxygen around them, "Naruto… he's…" wavering sobs broke the tension in the air and it was soon replaced with panic. The lone sobs got more strangled as the creator tried to form words, but could only form one. "_Naruto!" _

Ino lifted her pale blue eyes to her best friend whose face was scrunched up and partially hidden in her knees and hands. Tears moistened her skin and mixed with her dripping misery as another pair of sobs broke out and she was attacked by a figure clad in green.

"Don't worry, Sakura-san!" a sobbing boy with an overgrown bowl haircut with tears and snot running down his face yelled. "I will protect you from the perils of this world with the _sprin-_" The crescendo of his voice was quickly cut off and a slim hand removed itself from the top of Lee's head.

"Lee," the owner of the hand reprimanded. "Sakura," it said in a softer tone. "Let's just try to be rational right now. Ino hasn't even said anything yet and Naruto might still be alive. I know it's best to assume the worst and worst to assume the best, but at least have a little hope in him." The tone of Tenten's voice was only slightly reprimanding and mostly encouraging.

"She's right," Ino said and rose from the ground. "I haven't said a single word about him and three of you are already mourning his death," she reprimanded, and quickly turned to glare at a pair of ridiculously thick eyebrows that scrunched together. "Which, by the way, is _not _the situation."

Sakura's sobs slowed with a gasp and reduced to light hiccups. Lee's tears were renewed with a joyful vigor, the green – clad boy strengthening his inner connection to his youth.

"Oh, Kami," Ino scolded and was about ready to punch Lee's lights out. "Would you stop crying, Lee!" The blonde girl rested her irritated eyes on every member of the camp and set her hands on her hips. "Naruto is _not_ dead, he is alive, and he is fine. Just a few injuries from what I could see.

"It took me a long time to get even near the trail that he and Gaara and the rest of the Jinchuuriki were on. Rain is heavier down south and clears up tracks. I found scuffle marks by an apartment complex and a slight difference in color on the pavement under it, darker by friction and from blood. I can only assume that Naruto had fallen off the ladder climbing up the apartment building and fell back down. Someone dragged his body for a few feet before the marks stopped. I found a few bullet shells and destroyed Katons. He' s been taken in by a group with a member who obviously knows how to deactivate them. They've only got about five people, from what I saw. I don't know what Naruto's doing there but he's acting normally and looks like he's lost some weight. Their food supply is abundant and their medical supplies are suspiciously high. They've got a medic who seems to be at about an intermediate level of healing. They've got two or three swordsmen, plenty of guns, and a few weapons under their sleeve that we better steer clear of. They've got two adults who look like military material and three adolescents who look in excellent health and training. I know one's got severe medical problems but I couldn't pin what it was. Tied it to empty and thrown over medical aisles in a grocery store. There's random traces of blood everywhere and their camp is small, but they have an SUV and extra supplies about a mile away from it. There's empty plastic baggies in there, which looked like they were filled with drugs. I headed back to their camp at nightfall and followed two of the members who looked like relatives to listen to their conversation and hid behind a tree. They were talking about Naruto. From what I heard, they have malicious intentions to use him for something, and I'm going to assume that it's for medical purposes. One of the adults is missing an eye, and the scar tissue looks relatively new so I suspect that Naruto may be without an eye or even a limb soon. I don't know why Naruto hasn't tracked us and come home, but he may be under strict supervision and slash or being threatened. So because of that, this group's next mission will be to retrieve Naruto and leave nothing with that group's remains. They are the enemy. No matter who it is within that group, they are to be killed. Naruto will be brought home.

* * *

><p>Sixty-four miles away, Naruto sneezed so hard that he hunched over his bowl of granola.<p>

The sneeze startled Suigetsu awake who gave him a grumpy look and wiped the drool off his chin and dug back into his oatmeal. Karin blinked, chuckling a bit and flipped through a medical book yet again. Naruto tilted his head a bit to see the title and cringed when he saw it had to do with severed limbs and lacerations.

He set his empty bowl down and flopped himself near Karin's lap, looking up at her and tiny words. She raised her eyebrows and focused scarlet eyes on his blue ones, partly irritated and some interested. "What is it, Naruto?"

The blond hummed and pressed his hands together, then played with a piece of dead grass. "When can I get my bandages off?" He gave her an innocent grin and tried his best to look like an angel.

Karin rolled her eyes and slammed her book shut in his face. "No time soon, you idiot. But I will check up on your injuries."

She motioned for him to sit up and, with gentle fingers, unraveled the gauze around his head and neatly rolled it to place it in her lap. She pressed ginger fingers to his temples and barely pressed, waiting for a sign of pain from the blond.

Nothing.

Said boy looked bored and slightly grumpy, his shoulders slumped over and lips fixed in a pout. She slid her fingers slightly farther behind his head, completely confident that she would at least receive a grunt of pain or a grueling comment about being manhandled.

Nothing.

Karin frowned and noticeably increased the pressure of her appendages, now running across the whole blond head and increasingly pressing harder and harder. Blue eyes became glazed as they stared into the distance, slightly tinted from the shade of the rising sun.

"Are you giving me a head massage?" Naruto fixed lazy eyes on the redhead.

Karin removed her hands from the soft blond hair and visibly fumed. "Concussions are supposed to take weeks, sometimes even months to heal! How can yours be healed within a few days? You fell off a damn building, for Kami's sake! Is there something you're not telling me?" She gave him a stink eye through her lenses and clenched her fists by her lap.

"Eh?" he grunted, tilting his head to the side. "I didn't do anything and I barely know anythin'."

Karin growled and yanked him up by his shoulders, the boy towering over her but yet he was looking up at her. "Take off your shirt."

He pursed his lips and peeled his sleep shirt with little swirls all over it off. She ripped his bandages off and gingerly poked at a tan rib that was once nearly black in bruising. The redhead pressed her palms fully against his cage and identified his ribs in ordered sizes, running nimble fingers across the smooth, _healed _bones and harshly poking at them sometimes. Naruto bent away from her when she did that, bowing his back and turning to his side as he snorted and tried not to giggle from her obvious tickle attack. "Karin, stop it!"

Said girl looked up into the laughing face and her confusion and anger slowly melted away. _So he really is healed, huh,_ she thought. _Something else, this guy is._

The sun was well in the sky now, probably around eleven and there was still one member who hadn't roused from their tent and trotted into their "living room". Naruto's wheezes slowed and he let out a few last laughs, shrugging his shirt on and collapsing back to the ground. Karin backed away from him and smiled a bit, returning to her book and placing herself next to a gently snoring Suigetsu. Kakashi's eyes were still upturned at the blond boy's bright smile and contagious laughter. It seemed to him that he didn't have a single mean bone in his body, practically a boy of Christian word.

He watched as said boy crawled over to Suigetsu and stole his oats, stuffing his mouth with the bowl and chewing heartily.

"Naruto-kun," Kakashi chided, "Are you still hungry? It's okay to ask for more. You do look a bit thin." Without waiting for an answer, the man poured a lukewarm ladleful of oatmeal into his bowl and handed it to the boy. He took it with two hands and nearly devoured it, licking his fingers clean and curling up next to the fire when he was done. "Thank you," he told Kakashi.

Just then, a few rustles from the woods were heard and slowly emerged the gloomy aura that Sasuke was giving off. He had light bags under his eyes and his hair looked oddly disheveled, the spikes on the back of his head pointing to the east instead of in all directions. Naruto craned his neck to watch the boy hiss and bare venomous fangs to everybody (though not really) and drag his feet like a zombie to the forest opposite their camp.

"What was that about?" He grumbled.

"Ah," was all Kakashi offered and twirled a handgun in his fingers with a suspicious gleam in his eye. The look quickly turned to serious and then to deciding.

Naruto decided not to say anything and bundled like a bean in his blanket by the fire, stuffing his cheeks into his arms and going down like timber for a nap.

* * *

><p>Itachi was crouching by the completely frozen river and staring at a fat fish molded in it.<p>

He contemplated cutting the fish out with his knife or just shattering the ice whole. The brunet nodded to himself and tugged a Swiss knife free of his belt loop. He gently chipped at the ice and bemusedly watched when ice shavings spread everywhere while he dragged the blade down the river. He pointed the knife about two inches away from the actual animal and pressed it into the deep ice, watching as hairline fractures appeared under and around the sharp blade. He yanked it out and repeated the process over and over again, grunting as he did so and breaking into a light sweat. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and ran the knife in a circle to check for areas of ice he had left uncut. Now came the difficult part.

He squeezed his fingers into the small alleys the ice allowed and gently tugged on the block of ice containing the fish. Fractures spread like lightning, rising up from the bottom of the river to meet Itachi's eyes. He tugged harder and the ice gave way with a creak and a few more shatters and tugged so hard that the ice block nearly came crashing into his chest. The brunet sighed and twirled the ice around so that he found the face and stared the fish into its dull, metallic eyes. _Dinner, _he tried to mentally tell it.

He sighed again and watched the puffs of mist appear around his nose and mouth. He would have to hurry back to camp so that the fish didn't melt in his grasp and save it for lunch or dinner.

The brunet slugged his heavy ponytail over his shoulder and observed as is nearly reached his calves in length. It was that time again. Where Sasuke would cut his hair to his shoulder blades, a great length from where it was currently at the bottom of his back.

He stood up and tracked his eyes to where his little brother was making a commotion in the car. He shrugged through some thorn bushes and into the small opening where their SUV barely fit and where Sasuke had slung open the whole rising trunk and was halfway in the vehicle, rummaging around for something.

He blinked when Sasuke grunted and the cap of a pill bottle was heard popping open and the clamor of pills against each other rang in Itachi's ears. A thick, dry swallow was heard as well as the visible relaxing of his brother's body.

Sasuke removed himself from the car and set his left foot on the bumper, using it to support himself as he quickly leaned up and grabbed the tip of the trunk. He grabbed the handle and jumped to the ground, quickly ducking his head when the trunk shut close with a dull thud and a slight whine.

He turned around and came face to face with Itachi, who seemed unaffected and the complete opposite of the visibly started Sasuke.

"Taking the emergency ones, I see," Itachi drawled and tucked his fish under his arm. He regarded Sasuke with indifferent eyes and a condescending voice, looking at him through his nostrils.

The raven became irritated and put some distance between them. "Just for this morning," he said.

"You're right," Itachi repeated. "Just this morning. What are we doing later?"

Sasuke looked up at him and quickly broke eye contact. "Going to the school and bathing. Checking all the pharmacies and grocery stores. Scavenging the hospital."

The brunet narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything, having a feeling that something was going to go wrong. "You heard me," he murmured and bored his eyes into his brother's. "If you even so as get a paper cut or a scratch in town, you will not be provided such luxuries."

Sasuke nodded and looked down again.

"What is Naruto?"

"Nothing."

"I'll give you one more chance. _What is Naruto?_"

Sasuke kept himself from sighing and looked to the side. "Not my playmate," he murmured. "Not my friend. Not my partner. Not my teammate." He sighed. "Just an outlet."

Itachi made no sign that he had even listened to his words and slowly turned to trek back to the camp, twigs snapping under his steps and branches practically moving out of the way for him.

Sasuke bit his lip and uncrossed his fingers from behind his back.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was teaching Naruto and Juugo how to make a tourniquet when Itachi stalked back into the camp holding a frozen fish.<p>

"Dinner," was all he grunted and slugged the fish to Juugo. "Got no time for lunch because we're all heading into town to bathe."

Suigetsu and Karin sighed from their corner of the small fire. "Hopefully there's some warm water," Karin put in.

Itachi nodded at her and turned towards Naruto, Juugo and Kakashi. "Get ready and pack clean clothes, pick some up in town if you don't have any," he spat at the blond and sat away from everyone else. "Be heading on our way immediately after Sasuke gets back."

"Where'd he go?" Naruto began to stand up.

"None of your damn business."

The blond made a face and trotted away from the brunet like a scared fox. _Kami, _he thought to himself. _I don't think I've met anybody more irritable than that weasel. _Suigetsu smirked at him through his gallon tank of water and stood up as well.

"Better go get Kusanagi," the boy grinned and his sharp teeth glowed in the firelight. "Love that baby."

Naruto looked down at the skinny boy and frowned. "Who's Kusanagi?"

"Come over here," Suigetsu chuckled and beckoned to follow him to the tent area. The boy went to his own tent and after rummaging around for a few moments, emerged with a long object. It was a deep, rich, nearly black navy scabbard with a slightly worn matching handle. It shone iridescently in the dim light.

"This is Kusanagi," Suigetsu smiled and unsheathed a long, straight sword. "It used to be Sasuke's chokutō. It's mine now since the bastard lost a bet about a month ago," he pointed the sword toward the ground and sliced a blade of dead grass in half. "I totally get why he's such a sore loser about it. Best damn sword ever." He sheathed the blade and stuck the scabbard through his back belt loops.

Naruto got an uneasy feeling when he was around Suigetsu. He didn't know why, but the boy just made him… _uncomfortable. _A bit suspicious. He especially got a weird vibe from the boy when he had unsheathed Kusanagi and called Sasuke a sore loser. The raven came off to him as the type of person who would create a loophole in a bet, like saying that if he lost he would give you money and giving you a penny when he did lose. The situation just didn't seem right, and Naruto wondered why Sasuke hadn't seemed to say anything about it in the past.

They walked back towards the campfire and were paralleled by Sasuke. The boy sat down next to Juugo and they had a hushed, serious exchange of words. Karin shaved at a piece of wood and listened also, darting her eyes around the whole group as she rounded a vicious looking stake. Kakashi flipped through his porn book and Naruto wondered how the man didn't ever pop a boner when he read those books.

Itachi stood up and slugged a duffel bag over his shoulder. "We leave to the school now," he commanded and made no room for protests when he stalked away so fast that Naruto was sure he'd have to nearly run to keep up. Everybody else took their time and Juugo pressed his huge shoe into the fire, stomping it out nonchalantly and following Itachi. The blond pursed his lips and followed the large boy, also followed by Sasuke.

They had been walking through the dry forest for about thirty minutes when Naruto noticed. Kakashi and Itachi were in the lead, followed closely by a lone Suigetsu, followed up by Sasuke and Juugo with Naruto and Karin backing the line up.

He tried to muffle his snort at how puny Sasuke looked compared to the Juugo the fucking tank. Juugo had to be about six eight or so. His dark head only came to about the middle of Juugo's elbow and shoulder, and the taller man was slumping. Juugo's BMI was probably two or three times more than Sasuke's and he looked like a child next to his father. The blond puffed out his cheeks and desperately tried not to make a farting sound with them if he tried to laugh.

He turned to Karin who was glaring at him with flared nostrils and a scrunched chin. "What the hell is so funny?" She grabbed his ear and tugged his ear down to her mouth. "If you're laughing at my height I will turn you inside out by your d-"

"No! No! I'm not laughing at you," he whispered back and grinned as he pointed a finger towards Sasuke and Juugo. "I'm laughing at their heights."

Karin unwrinkled her chin when it turned into a grin once she saw what the blond was talking about. She let out a few evil cackles and poked Sasuke in the small of the back, who completely stopped and turned irritated eyes to her. "Wh-"  
>"You damn shorty," she picked. "Look at Juugo compared to you!"<p>

Sasuke narrowed at her and craned his neck up to said boy. Juugo offered no say in the situation and stared blankly at his own shoes. The raven turned back to her and furrowed his eyebrows, "Who gives a shit?"

That comment earned a small scuffle from Karin and the raven ended up backing the group up next to Naruto with a sore elbow and a scowl. The redhead happily trotted along next to Juugo, looking smaller next to him than he had. He inwardly cursed his warm morals at not being able to hit Karin as a result of his respect to her saving his life more than a few times.

Naruto walked with his palms pressed together behind his back and peeked at the raven from the corner of his vision. He mustered up the courage to poke the boy in the side and swallow his pride when the boy gave him a tired, searing glare and whispered, "Don't worry. I look short next to him too."

The glare softened in its degrees until it was just a simple gaze.

* * *

><p>Karin got voted to shower last since the last time they had bathed, she had stomped over all of them and gone first. Naruto amusedly watched when she jammed her finger into Suigetsu's chest and promised him painful death if he used up all the warm water.<p>

Earlier, they had walked up to the school and departed to search for fresh clothes. Kakashi let him know his pant size since they were about the same height and scavenged a department store for clothes. In his arms he held some dark jeans, a dark orange thermal shirt, an orange pair of boxers and some thick boot socks. They had all returned and proceeded to vote Karin last and keep guard while she showered by herself after the boys.

They filed into the glass door he had broken for Sasuke when they came here and pointed at the _Gym _sign in front of them. They shuffled through the school hallways until they came face to face with a pair of double metal doors with caged windows on them. Itachi pulled it open to reveal a vast room with two basketball courts, a few nets and goals and stray balls littered about. Naruto was filled with sadness when he glanced at one of them to see a small, bloody handprint on it and a bullet hole through the foam of the soccer ball.

Suigetsu kept his head down when their footsteps echoed through the gym, squeaking and scuffling here and there, imitating the constant ones Naruto was sure would echo through the room when the students played. There was a stage with old paint buckets splattered on its wooden floor, the blond deciding to assume that the red stains on the surface was paint and not blood.

Once they passed the stage they were met with another open doorway that had a broken piano off to its side and cement stairs leading into the darkness. Itachi unzipped his duffel bag and rummaged through it to emit a flashlight, switching it on and shining it down the spiral staircase. At the end of it was a visible sign that read _Locker Room _with smiley faces on either side of it.

They were all silent as they piled down the staircase and neared the sign above a moist wooden door. Kakashi bared a gun and nodded to the rest of the group. He kicked down the door and waited for any mechanical whirs or cocking guns, but nothing came. Itachi covered in front of the man and shone his flashlight around the dim room with sunlight infiltrating through its windows near the ceiling. There was two lines of showers with green curtains and a changing bench with pikes that still had small duffel bags and shirts, some small shoes spread on the ground as well as a few shampoo bottles. Naruto picked a few up and tossed them to his group mates.

"Who wants to try for hot water?" Suigetsu pulled Kusanagi out from his belt loops and threw it on the bench. Sasuke eyed the sword hungrily and fixed a deadly glare on the white haired boy.

"I will," he growled and turned to a shower to rip open its curtain and tug on the temperature knob. He twisted out and to the left and a high water pressure echoed through the locker room and the raven yanked the curtain closed and stepped away.

They waited long moments before thick steam rose from the shower and earned some relieved sighs from the boys. They modestly spread out among the large room and cleared the bench of its remains.

Naruto switched the shower on and shrugged off his shirt. He tossed a shampoo bottle in there and picked up a clean looking towel from the bench and draped it over the wall between the showers. He waited until he saw the beginnings of steam before he unlaced his boots and slipped out of his pants and boxers in one go. He heard Suigetsu heavily sigh from two showers away from his.

The blond stepped in the shower and immediately jumped away from its searing temperature, adjusting it so that it wouldn't burn off his skin. He bent over and picked up the blue bottle of shampoo, squirting a large amount into his hand and massaging it into his scalp. He rubbed away the troublesome memories of him, cleaned matted burgundy clumps and dirt from his tresses. He stuck his face into the hot water, letting soap run down his back and shoulders and turning around to squirt some more shampoo on his hand. He distantly heard another shower turn on and a hiss.

Naruto lathered his hands and scrubbed at his arms; washing away built up dirt and dried blood. He scrubbed at his chest and stomach, cleansing himself of sweat and more dirt. The blond bent over and scrubbed at the downy hairs of his legs and muscles of his thighs. He shot up when he felt the highly pressured water practically punch him in the balls and glared at the shower head. He bent over so that the water pounded his back and neck to scrub at his cold feet. A deep groan emitted from two showers away from him. He ignored it and stood up to wash his head again, but froze when he heard another groan and a sigh from the same stall. He narrowed his eyes and didn't notice the huge pile of shampoo in his hand to rise on his toes and peek over his stall at a head of white hair that was barely visible under a shower head. He scrunched his nose when he heard a few more awkward pants from that stall and grimaced in horror.

"Kami _damn, _Suigetsu!" Naruto bellowed and made a disgusted face. "Stop fucking jacking off!"

A pale forearm appeared on the wall five stalls away and quickly turned into the right arm, shoulder and face of Sasuke. The raven scowled and rubbed water out of his ears. "What? I- Kami! Put that fucking thing away, Suigetsu!" He yelled. Sasuke made the funniest face the Naruto thought he'd ever seen and threw himself back into his stall.

Suigetsu chuckled and made a lewd grin at Naruto. "'Fucking thing', you are _right, _Sasuke."

Said boy's shower immediately switched off and he could be heard fumbling around for his clothes and violently shrugging them on. "I'm leaving right now, you fucking pig," the raven growled and unsuccessfully tried to stuff his foot in his boot.

Naruto switched off his shower and vigorously rubbed his hair and body, tying the towel he used around his waist and running out to the bench. "I'm outta here," he grumbled before another shower turned off and Itachi emerged with nothing but a pair of black briefs and wet hair plastered to his torso. Naruto watched with wide eyes as Itachi practically plowed ground and ripped Suigetsu's shower curtain off its hinges and hacked at the shower head. It broke off and a thick, strong stream pummeled Suigetsu into the ground and Itachi grabbed the boy in a chokehold and dragged him onto the cold floor. Naruto covered his poor eyes with his hands as soon as he saw another shade of pale skin and white hair. A few heavy thumps and slaps could be heard, as well as Suigetsu choking and struggling for air. Kakashi's laughter rang out through the room and Juugo sighed loudly.

Naruto waited for the violent sounds to die down until he felt a finger poke him in the stomach and Sasuke whispered that it was okay for him to uncover his eyes. He peeked through his fingers. On the ground lay an unconscious Suigetsu and Itachi sitting near him in a pair of green trousers, running fingers through his hair. The blond fully removed his hands from his eyes and tugged on his boxers under his towel.

"Sasuke," Itachi called and held out a small knife. "It's time."

Naruto observed as Sasuke trudged over to his brother and sat behind him on the bench, taking the knife and sighing. He grabbed the mane of slightly tangled hair in one hand and observed its length, moving his hand farther down to match his brother's shoulder blades.

A delicate slicing and ripping whispered into the room. Sasuke snorted and gazed at the wet ponytail in his hand before tossing it to the ground and wiping his hands of stray hairs.

The blond stared at the dead hair on the ground before two white feet appeared in front of it.

His eyes burned as he looked up at Kakashi's grinning, _and still masked face, _as he stood there stark naked in all of his manly glory.

Naruto whined.

* * *

><p>Half a mile away, a group of five tracked their scents.<p>

They were quickly closing in to a large school district in the ruins of Konoha, the area completely cleared of Katons.

A female barked out commands as they stood a few neighborhoods away from the school, announcing attack plans as they traveled along roofs of buildings.

"And remember what I said," that female voice intruded into everyone's ears again. "No matter who he's with, _kill them._"

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Naruto stood in a dark alley by the school, keeping guard as Karin showered by herself and Juugo patrolled the area around them.<p>

Sasuke's lips were still upturned at the joke that Naruto had made about Kakashi a while ago. The blond basked in his own self-satisfaction at making the raven laugh for a few moments before he quickly had to hush down in order not to make his brother angry.

They slowly turned down as he remembered his brother's orders and quirked back up for a fraction of a second at his own memory of crossing his fingers as he recited them.

Naruto glanced at his friend. He followed the figure of Juugo as he walked to and fro the school and the alley.

"Hey," he murmured and scooted a bit closer to the shorter boy. "Suigetsu bragged to me about Kusanagi. What happened there?" The blond winced and turned his head to the side at his subtlety. Or lack thereof. He was like a damn bull in a china shop. _Wait to go, _he scolded himself. _Couldn't I have said something like "You know, I heard you had a sword. Where is it?"_ _Now he's just going to ignore me._

Sasuke looked a bit startled when he heard the first consonant of his sword. Black eyes darted to meet blue and quickly looked away. "Well," he started. "About a month ago we made a bet." He paused when Juugo beckoned to them that Karin was almost ready and to start heading back.

When Sasuke didn't continue, Naruto rolled his eyes and walked next to Sasuke. "Aaaaannnnddd?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes back at Naruto and continued the story. "Suigetsu challenged me into who could get more of these," they emerged from the alley and Sasuke ruffled through his pack, pulling out a bottle of pills and rolling them around so that Naruto could see the title. The blond frowned. "I only got a bunch of bottles these size, but Suigetsu got this huge industrial sized bottle. We had Kakashi count them and he only won the bet by two capsules."

Naruto scrunched his brows in confusion when Sasuke handed him the bottle. "What are those for? And who are those for?"

Sasuke sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well," he grumbled. "I guess it's best that you know anyway." Juugo was standing a few feet away and began to open his mouth to warn the two. "I'm-"

Everything happened in slow motion.

One second, Naruto was about to earn some medical information from Sasuke.

The next, the thick sound of stretching metal and rusted springs filled the air and a thick knife embedded itself deeply through Sasuke's shoulder and emerged from the front of his chest, as well as the sound of skin being torn and blood spilling.

* * *

><p>AN: Hi readers! I don't know whether to assume that you all hate me or not. I decided that I was spoiling you all too much and since this is the longest chapter yet (5,810 words), I decided to put you down with a cliffie. This chap seriously could have ended at some points, but leading up to this last little scene was a must for the way the next chapter falls. Please review, I'll put some more funnies and cuties in the future chaps if you guys do. Oh, and I don't mean to brag but I just have to get this out - my boyfriend proposed! The other day was our three year ani and he broke that ring out like some of his bad jokes. I'm so, so, so, so incredibly happy and this is just literally so amazing because five or six years ago I would never have even imagined starting a conversation with a guy. -screams- sorry for my ramble and remember: REVIEW! x


	7. Replete

Chapter 6: Replete

* * *

><p>Everything happened in slow motion.<p>

One second, Naruto was about to earn some medical information from Sasuke.

The next, the thick sound of stretching metal and springs filled the air and a thick knife imbedded deeply through Sasuke's shoulder and emerged from the front of his chest.

The launching force was enough to make the raven's knees buckle and send him stumbling forward. First came confusion, such as to why his legs gave out and he suddenly felt so weak.

Second were his senses. Something warm trickled down his stomach and back and his eyes slightly widened. His vision seemed as if everything were moving through molasses and it seemed to take hours for Naruto's blue eyes to widen in horror and his jaw drop open in shock. But his vision of the blond was slowly going away, being replaced by his neck, then his chest…

Third was the pain. Later, Sasuke would have guessed that his blond friend was in too much of a shock to consider his actions. Strong hands were placed on his gored and normal shoulder and scream tore through his larynx and stopped others in their tracks.

Now it seemed like everything was moving in its regular timing and Sasuke fucking _hated _it. A louder scream dried his throat when Naruto shifted his hand on his penetrated shoulder in fear.

Something gargled in his throat and on a regular day he would have assumed it phlegm. He coughed and was mildly surprised when warm, thick liquid trickled down his chin and splattered the front of Naruto's shirt. His vision doubled when he tried to look at his hands but instead caught a glimpse of burgundy slowly soaking his shirt. He gagged at the putrid stench of his own blood but that only resulted in more of it escaping his throat and making it sear.

He coughed harder when the blond wrapped a shaking arm around his side so that his injured shoulder faced away from him. Sasuke desperately tried to clear his airway and he distantly heard his friend's shaking voice yelling louder and louder for their medic. He choked out a modest amount of blood and dragged a wheezing breath into his lungs, half of it immediately escaping in a groan of pain.

_Blood, _he thought to himself. _I'm losing too much blood._

* * *

><p>Naruto barely gave the hooded figure with a bow a glance before he turned his complete attention to his friend.<p>

A small squirt of blood escaped his wound before the raven's head tilted back and he fell forward.

Like in most situations, Naruto didn't think about what he did. He grabbed Sasuke's shoulders, one sopping wet and warm and the other dry and cold, and tried to yank him back up before he fell to the ground.

His eyes nearly watered in primal fear when a gut-wrenching, skin-crawling, and absolutely horrid yell of pain emitted from his friend's lungs. He cursed himself for being so damn clumsy and quickly removed his hand off the boy's left shoulder, wrapping his trembling arm around his torso to that the raven could lean his uninjured shoulder into his side.

After all the times that Kakashi had drilled into him that if someone were to get hurt that he should immediately call out for the rest of the group, his mind was only filled with the wheezes and whooping coughs of his friend and the metallic scent of blood on the both of them.

He whipped his head around and only saw Juugo taking on two cloaked figures hand to hand. _Bandits, _Naruto cursed and slowly shuffled past them. He had a hand clamped over Sasuke's wet mouth and the boy was painfully digging his nails into his bicep. Once he got out of the alley and into the thin street with the school district right across from it, he deemed Sasuke's life over all other matters.

"_Karin!_" he screamed and limped across the dirty street, the raven's coughs having ceased and replaced with heavy breaths and small grunts of pain at each step. "_Kakashi!" _he bellowed.

The silver haired man was engaged in battle with a brown haired boy. Naruto shuffled closer to the fighting men, flexing his ears when he heard the pang of metal against metal. Kakashi ignored Naruto's cries and the blond backed up when a huge white dog viciously growled at the pair. Sasuke lifted his booted foot and kicked the dog in the face, panting and nearly collapsing after he did so.  
>"Knock it the fuck off," Naruto tried to growl. No malice was in his tone and it seemed like nearly a statement.<p>

"No," Sasuke growled back.

The dog growled again and barked at both of them. Another black boot shoved it away and its white body was replaced with that of Itachi. The man looked rabid and his face only doubled in its fury when he saw the sheet-white and lucid state of his injured brother.

"What the hell happened?" Itachi shoved the blond away and yanked his brother close to him, wrapping an arm around his head and glaring at him. "Karin!" The man hoisted Sasuke face down and planked into his arms, trying to bring his blood flow to his skull. "Karin!" he hollered again and sprinted into the yard of the school. There Suigetsu was wielding Kusanagi against a form smaller than his own with a simple bloodied machete.

Naruto followed Itachi hot on his heels when the man kicked the school doors open and wound on the balls of his feet to find the gym, the showers, _Karin, _help for Sasuke who was most likely going to bleed out.

There was a steady trail of blood that appeared in front of the blond's boots. He tried not to focus on it when they neared the same double gym doors and burst through them, racing through rubber balls to get to the stairs. When they reached them, Itachi hobbled down them sideways like a madman and Sasuke coughed up a bit more blood when he tried to speak.

They tore through the door of the locker room and were greeted with Karin wrapped in a beige towel as well as a pink one atop her head. She screamed and backed behind a shower curtain. "What the fuck-"

"Sasuke's hurt!" Naruto hoarsely yelled before he could stop himself.

Karin ran to the bench and shoved her glasses on her face before focusing on the glinting blade in the unconscious form of her childhood friend. She froze in shock and her jaw silently worked when Itachi tried to bark commands at her, but soon overpowering her shock and laying down her years of medical experience. "Both of you are idiots," she growled and yanked the towel off her head to fold it thickly and wrap it around Sasuke's wound. "Naruto, lead us to the hospital you saw." She grabbed two more towels for when Sasuke bled through the first one. "Be prepared to give blood." She slammed the shower room door open and ran up the stairs.

"What?" Naruto followed Itachi and furrowed his brows as he took the stairs two at a time.

"I said, _be pr-_"

"I heard you," he snapped. "Why?"

"No," Itachi spat and fixed his grip on his brother's form. "Don't tell him, it'll only weaken us fur-"

"Shut the fuck up," Karin spat back and jogged to the gym doors. "He needs to know if-"

"He _doesn't,_" Itachi hissed and narrowed his eyes dangerously at the blonde.

"Why? Because your brother is already fucking unconscious from blood loss, or do you want him to die?" She growled back and nearly broke a gym door off its hinge. "You know he can help us, so face the fact that the damn secret it out."

"You _will not s_-"

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto interrupted as they broke through the school entrance opposite of the battles that Karin had skipped. Yells were still heard in the distance and a few gunshots echoed dully in the atmosphere.

Karin unfastened a gun from Sasuke's belt and shoved it in his chest. "Cover us as you lead," she mumbled.

Naruto recognized the section of the street and sprinted over remnants of Katons and humans. He could see the gas station he had filled up at in the distance and tried to quicken his steps, hearing the slaps of Karin's bare feet against the cold pavement and the wet thumps of Sasuke's body with its shifting knife.

"What are you not telling me?" Naruto demanded and rounded a corner.

The beginnings of protests from Itachi were cut off by Karin's level voice. "Sasuke's anemic," she stated and shrugged off the physical weight of Itachi's fury. "Do you remember what that means from my books?"

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows as images of blood cells, normally shaped and some shaped like stars filled his mind as well as words like _hemoglobin _and _aplastic _filled his mind. "Um, shortage of blood?"

"Not exactly," Karin explained. "There's different types and I'll give you the backstory later, but Sasuke doesn't have enough iron in his blood to make the oxygen go around. You have an exceptional, healthy blood type that can be donated to any other blood type while Sasuke unfortunately has one that can only be donated to by the same type or yours. Itachi and him have different blood types, even as siblings. From the loss he's suffered now," her voice softened as she glanced at the limp figure of her friend. "And from what he'll be suffering in the future, he'll be losing a ridiculous amount and he'll probably need multiple transfusions."

Naruto recalled the bottle of iron pills that Sasuke had showed him. "Well, if he was taking those pills, why is it still severe as it is?"

"Because," Karin grumbled and lowered her eyes. "In conditions like these, it's impossible to get foods for him that aren't expired and injuries are too common to control."

Naruto glanced behind him and saw the glare Itachi was giving him, though this time muted and filled with one resolute order: _Save my brother._

* * *

><p>Naruto kicked the doors to the large emergency room down and jumped in, gun raised and ready to shoot any other bandits or Katons. Karin rushed behind the secretary counter and ruffled around to emerge with a box of gloves and a bottle of hand sanitizer. "Get him on that gurney," she nodded to the yellow contraption by the front entrance. She whipped her head up to look at the signs hooked to the walls, looking for <em>Laboratory <em>and _Surgery._ She spotted them and waved her arm towards the boys, Itachi having already gingerly lowered his brother on his side onto the stretcher and Naruto pulling it.

They ran through cramped hallways with stray papers and biohazard containers and stretchers, torn plastic gloves and gowns scattered on the ground. They turned a corner and reached a set of metal doors with a dead touchscreen pad on it, words plastered above it saying _NO CIVILIANS BEYOND THIS POINT. _Karin froze and growled at the doors. There was a card holder on the side of the pad and a yellow lanyard flashed through his mind back by the entrance doors.

"I think I saw a card by the entrance," he announced and sprinted back through the hallways of the hospital, sweating and thanking Kami that he reached the doors in record time. His eyes darted across the floor until they spotted a mustard yellow lanyard with a shiny plastic cardholder on it. The blond jumped at it and held it in his hands, turning it multiple ways until he could focus on the printed name of the identification card.

There was a metallic blue holographic line on one side of it and the other side held a picture of its owner, department, and specialty. _Dr. Snakes,_ it read with a picture of a pale creepy man with long black hair and beady eyes. His department was radiology, which was past the lab, and his specialty was something called… reconstructive and spiritual surgery?

Naruto shook his head and sprinted back through the hospital to where Karin was trying to kick the door down and Itachi was pressing another towel into his brother's chest. He ran up and punched the touch pad, it flaring to life under his touch and glowing blue. It displayed a picture of a card and Naruto held it up to match with the image displayed on the screen, a holographic blue light coming out and scanning the card before dying again and emitting a loud _ping _that sent the metal doors sliding up.

The room beyond was filled with biohazard signs and yellow warnings of radiation and illustrations of pregnant women and elephantiasis. Karin jumped on the stretcher as soon as she saw the first broken shard of a test tube and they sped through the lab, meeting another metal door that immediately opened at their movement and led into the surgery department. Karin hopped off the gurney and picked up a first aid kit and AED if the time came that she lost Sasuke's heart rate, then a stray pair of needles that she was sure wasn't the right size for a transfusion but would have to suffice anyway.

They jogged down the hall until the redhead took a sharp turn into a large surgery room that appeared to have plentiful supplies and what looked like a refrigerator in the back. There was a red plus sign on it. Naruto looked around in confusion as Itachi and Karin transferred Sasuke's body to the metal operating table and set the gurney next to it. She ran towards a large set of cabinets and yanked them open, searching through green and white packages of long needles that made his eyes widen in fear. She tossed brown packages to Itachi who tore them open and rubbed orange liquid on the inside of Sasuke's elbow. The veins under his skin were now more pronounced than ever.

"You!" Karin called and trotted towards Sasuke, shifting through packages of needles and setting some down that Naruto clearly saw with numbers like 19 and 21 written on them. Kami bless him, those things looked like _knives. _"Get over here!"

When Naruto sat down, she immediately cut through the sleeve of his left arm and a cold toilette was rubbed over the inside of his elbow. Karin had a clean blood bag ready by his side and was connecting a tube to it when Itachi interrupted.

"That's going to take too long," he barked. "Do it directly."

Karin froze and directed her widened eyes to the brunet. "What? Itachi, I've only read about that and it's dan-"

"_Do it."_

Karin paused with a needle poised over the blond's inner elbow. "I can't make that work. We would need-"

Itachi displayed to her a strange metal syringe, her eyes widening at the object. "Where-"

"It doesn't matter," he said and threw the blood bag to the corner of the room. "Now do it."

Karin gave Naruto a wary look and quickly hooked up two tubes to the bottom of the object and gave one needle that the tube opposite of the blond belonged to Itachi.

"Flex your fist," she murmured and twisted a knob on the top of the object. "We insert them on three," she ordered and gave Itachi a glare. "This is serious and not a time for one of your alpha dog games."

Itachi didn't reply and waited for her to start counting.

"One," Karin announced and gave the blond a confident look.

"Two," he put in and gave her a weak grin. She patted his bicep.

"Three." She glided the needle under his skin and into his vein, Naruto making a fish face at the intrusion and squirming around a bit. He definitely felt pressure at the point of entrance, but no sucking or whatsoever. He glanced over at the slowly rising chest of his dark haired friend and wondered how it all came to this.

"I'm going to let him have about half a pint until I remove the knife," the redhead nodded to herself. She probed the area around his gore and scrunched her nose. "His collarbone and shoulder blade are shattered and he'll have severe muscle damage. Need stitches, of course… I'll do my best to realign the fragments, but I don't think they'll heal perfectly without surgery. His spine is fine, too far away from his heart…" she sighed. "He'll have a _lot_ more muscle damage than I'd like to admit. I can't believe this happened to him out of all of us," she pressed her forehead against the operating table and ran her hands though her hair.

Naruto felt a huge wave of guilt crash over his system and clenched his eyes shut. Itachi sighed heavily and unlaced his brother's boots, letting them drop to the floor. He took a pair of medical scissors and cut his brother's thermal shirt up the middle, unwinding it from the knife and cutting it all apart.

"You're going to make him cold," Karin grumbled from inside her arms. "And we haven't even taken out the knife yet."

She rested her chin on her arms and looked up at Itachi. "I'm not strong enough to do it. I can't do it, I can't watch that." She murmured and twirled a lock of her friend's inky hair in her fingers. She pressed her sweaty palms to his cold cheeks and tried to warm his head. "You're going to have to do it."

"Fine," the man clipped and stood tensely in the middle of them.

"This is going to be difficult," Karin sighed. "I'm going to try to stop the bleeding naturally. There's over-the-counter stabilizers here but he's most likely allergic to them. Once you take it out, toss it somewhere and help me put pressure on the wound to stop its bleeding. Once it shows the slightest sign of letting up, I'm stitching him up and injecting painkillers."

Itachi nodded and knitted his fingers together behind his back.

"How do you know he has half a pint?" Naruto softly asked and looked at the ground. Karin shrugged and poked the raven's shoulder.

"I can just tell," she replied.

She took his hand in hers and checked for coldness, rubbing it together in her hands. She stood up and opened a different cabinet, this time holding a bundle of blankets and her nose twitching in irritation as she realized she was still in her bath towel. She set those on Naruto's lap and padded across the room to retrieve more towels and anesthetic.

The blond puckered his lips and stared at his sickly pale friend with drying blood on his chin. He leaned over and picked up a shred of shirt Itachi had cut away, wiping his chin clean and throwing the fabric across the room. Now Sasuke looked somewhat normal, like the gun expert and hard worker that had a knack for being soft spoken but packing a mean punch when he did speak, the one he had befriended and not the injured, frail figure on a metal table. It had only been a few days, but in those few Naruto found a quick-minded companion. He felt ashamed that it took a situation like this to want to know the boy better.

"Okay," Karin whispered and clutched at a towel in her hand. "Take it out."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and waited for a few seconds before relaxing them after a moment. He was just about to open them when he heard a grunt, a wet sliding sound, a pang of metal and the stretching of skin and the squirting of flesh blood. His lips quivered when he heard Karin gasp and a soft thump of a plush towel.

"Looks like he got most of the bleeding done on the way over here," she grunted and peeked under the towel. "Just a few more minutes."

Karin's stomach felt queasy and her head was hurting with how many thoughts were buzzing through it, but this was Sasuke's life they were messing with. This had to be the most worried and terrified that she had ever been. She didn't know if she could put in the stitches on her friend's destroyed shoulder, didn't know if she could ease the shattered bones back into place and slip his arm in a sling. But she had to… for Sasuke's best chance at healing. She put more pressure on the towel against the raven's shoulder, careful to center her weight and to not rearrange his bones.

Naruto let his eyes inch open to the sight of Karin leaning over Sasuke with most of her weight on her arms and his shoulder, and Itachi frozen in front of the operating table with the knife still in hand. It was a butcher's knife, ironically used to skin pigs and chop their meat up like it had ripped through Sasuke's shoulder. The boy's breathing was labored even in his sleep and Naruto flinched when the needle inside of him shifted when he tried to get a closer look.

"Itachi," she called and shifted from her position. "I need you to control the bleeding while I go get stitching supplies." She clenched her jaw at the thought of anesthesia. There was no time for that, and she would just give the boy the high-tech painkillers that Kami had blessed this age with.

Itachi didn't move his empty eyes off of the butcher. "Now," she added condescendingly and released her grip to run across the room and practically jump inside a cabinet. Her theory worked when she glanced back and bit her lip to hide a triumphant smile.

Naruto craned his neck to where Karin was rummaging through that cabinet like a raccoon, then followed her movements when she ran back and laid what she had in her arms on the metal surface. All the blond caught a glimpse of was clear wire and metal instruments before she yanked Itachi's hands off of his brother's shoulder.

Her hands were nearly blurred and Naruto could only make out the movements of a hooked needle piercing the raven's skin and emerging with a few lines of stitches. She began at his breast and quickly worked her way up, tightly mending skin to skin and the meeting points crusting with dried blood. They rolled Sasuke to his side and the blond kept his gaze locked on the pale face, cheeks now brushed with color and brows furrowed in his sleep. He barely noticed when Karin madly ended her stitches and darted to the side to emerge with a syringe and two bottles, clumsily wiping the used supplies off the table and replacing them. She spun open the top to a brown bottle that had a strange long rubber nipple on it and squirted the substance into and around Sasuke's wound. The boy's breathing caught in his sleep and his eyebrows furrowed further. She picked up a wet toilette and gently patted the stitches to clear it of any dried blood and unrolled gauze. She layered the gore thickly and secured it with weak-looking tape. Itachi picked a folded towel off the ground and set it under his brother's shoulder when they laid him down.

"We should probably get him to an actual room," the redhead grumbled and rinsed her hands with the liquid from the brown bottle. "There I can actually monitor his heart rate and test their blood for compatibility."

Itachi was silent and rested dull eyes on the blond. He slightly dangled his feet off the side of the gurney and offered a weak grin to the man.

"Karin, how much have I given?" he whispered and turned to the girl who was cleansing Sasuke's torso with a wet towel.

"You only have a bit more to go," she answered and abruptly sliced the blond's shirt open.

"Hey-"

"Shush, it's soaked in blood," she discarded the brown garment to the side and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and roughly wiped blotted blood off of Naruto's chest. Karin shakily stood up and took small steps toward the blood bank in the back of the room, praying to Kami that their supplies wasn't biased. She swung the metal door open and exposed nearly black bags of blood, alphabetically ordered and some with names on them. She rifled through them and was thankful to find one bag of B negative, although it was only one. There were no O types in the bank, not even listed as a blood type on the motivational poster stuck inside the door.

She padded back to the boys and turned a knob on the contraption dangling between Sasuke's and Naruto's arms, the bright red stream coming from Naruto and to Sasuke slowly stopping. She removed the tube from Sasuke's side of it and placed it at the knob of the blood bag to place it on Sasuke's stomach. Karin gently removed the needle from Naruto's artery and promised him an orange one day in the future.

"Okay," she brushed off her hands and rested them on the table legs under the raven's head. "Let's roll him to a patient room."

Naruto stood up and registered the ache of his legs and the dryness of his mouth.

Itachi numbly pulled the table through the metal doors of the surgical rooms and they all turned to look for inpatient rooms or hospice sets. Karin backed through the hallway and the blond held the ID up to the scanner again, gently taking the girl in his arms when he recalled all the broken glass in this room. The twin metal door opposite of the one behind them stuttered in its opening and only rose about two feet off the floor.

They all froze when it didn't open any more. He laid questioning eyes on Karin's and she signaled for him to put her down.

"Go get the gurney," she ordered and slipped under the opening.

Without thinking, Naruto sprinted back through the surgery hall and burst into the surgery room with bloodied towels on the floor and leaping at the bright yellow stretcher. He yanked it behind him when he used the ID yet again to open the lab door and rushed towards Itachi.

Karin's hands appeared under the door and her voice sounded muffled through it. "Put Sasuke on the stretcher," she grunted. "And hold the gurney when I lower it so that it won't come crashing down."

When Naruto tried to grab one side of Sasuke's body he was harshly shoved away by Itachi. The man gingerly moved his brother's limp body and half-empty blood bag to the stretcher.

"Alright, hold it." She demanded and pressed a latch above the stretcher's wheels. Only Naruto moved fast enough to set both of his arms under the thin mattress, pressing his face into the raven's tight torso at his weight. He gently lowered it completely to the ground and grunted when he finally did. Geez, Sasuke was _heavy. _

The redhead's greedy hands yanked Sasuke under the door and Naruto crawled under it behind Itachi. He rose and pointed at a sign that read ICU and pointed to their right. They jogged down that dark hall and burst into the first curtained room they saw.

A skeleton with a small amount of rotting meat on it and flies buzzing around it laid on the hospital bed with a breathing tube still around its neck. They immediately backed out and burst into the room opposite of Skully, sighing in relief when they saw the room was in pristine quality. Karin set the stretched next to the blue-sheeted bed and switched the latch that had Sasuke's body slowly rising to the level of the bed. She untucked the sheets and Itachi automatically bundled his little brother in them, reminded of the times when he had passed out from malnutrition as a child and the only thing Itachi could do was tuck him in and hope he would wake up the next morning.

Karin fiddled with a heart monitor by his side and threw it to the white tiled floor when it didn't turn on. She kicked a stale oxygen tank to the side and froze when the sound panged in the air.

"We should go back for the others," Naruto awkwardly cut in just when Karin was about to complete her rage. "Itachi can protect Sasuke."

She glared at the blond and pushed her glasses higher up on the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"You're right."

Itachi turned to him and nodded. "Take Karin with you. I will give you my handgun just for today." He reached behind him and tossed a lacquered black shooter at the blond. "Kill the one who injured my brother."

Naruto weakly nodded and switched the safety off the gun, beckoning Karin to follow him out the hospital doors.

* * *

><p>They were closely scuttling down the road to the school when Suigetsu shot past them and created puffs of dirt with his heels when he tried to stop.<p>

"Hurry, we got 'em!" He yanked their arms and tugged them toward the playground of the school. On the rubber mulch of the structure, Kakashi had planted himself on the same white dog that had tried to attack Naruto and Sasuke just over an hour ago. It was growling and whining under his weight and barked at the blond when he neared. Juugo had his arms securely taut around two flaxen haired girls that were long since out cold. On the ground lay two unconscious men, one with brown hair and red triangles on his cheeks and the other Naruto knew to be the bandit Sasuke had shot when they went looting. Suigetsu had his arm in a chokehold against a squirming young looking boy with a gravity-defying style of hair and a bright green scarf.

"Wake them up," Karin growled in Suigetsu's face. The white haired boy sneered at her and dropped the boy in his arms. The scrambled up from the ground and immediately leaped at Naruto, yelling something incoherent and latching onto his neck. Naruto yelled and tried to twist the boy off his body with no avail, switching the safety off his gun and shoving it into the temple of the boy. Karin violently grabbed the boy and slammed him on the ground with the strength like that of a wrestler and Suigetsu went to work on kicking the rest of their captives awake. She yanked the gun out of his hand and pressed it between his eyes. "_Tell me where your camp is."_

Naruto's eyes flickered when he heard a female groan from Juugo's arms and flickered back to the boy Karin had pinned to the ground. She shoved the gun into his head hard enough to create future bruising. "Tell me where your fucking camp is! I'll destroy it like y-"

She paused when she heard a feminine gasp and immediately let go of the boy to point it at its source.

"Who are you?!" She yelled and knelt in front of the pink haired girl. Karin got in her face and growled viciously enough to spit in the girl's face. "I'll kill your whole camp."

The pink haired girl looked over Karin's shoulder and sobbed. "_Erutow!" _ she wailed and tried to break free from Juugo's grasp. "Naruto!" she screamed a bit more coherently once tears broke free and decorated her cheeks. "Naruto!" She sobbed again and reached her hands out towards the baffled blond. "Na-"

Juugo released her and the pink haired girl automatically clambered up Naruto and clung to him, sobbing in his neck and gripping his bare back. She continued to hoarsely wail his name into his shoulder and the blond lifted a hand to awkwardly pat the girl on her back, absolutely clueless as to what was going on. He cringed when he heard another sob from another female throat but was slightly (completely) petrified at the sight of a rabid blonde girl nearly foaming at the mouth and desperately trying to beat up Juugo.

The brown haired man also woke up from the ruckus and shot up when he saw Naruto, leaping towards him but was stopped when Karin harshly punched him in the jaw and sent him tumbling back towards the ground. Her anger had returned in full force to replace the pity she had felt for the crying girl.

"Which one of you stabbed Sasuke!" she screamed and pointed the revolver at the blonde girl, the tattooed man and shifted it to the young boy. She continuously shifted it to all of them, impatiently waiting for an answer. "If you don't answer me, all of you will die!"

The blonde girl looked up and sneered at Karin. "I didn't stab him," she said with a level voice. "I just loaded a crossbow with a knife and shot it at some man."

The redhead slid to her knees and pressed the gun barrel inside the girl's left ear. "_Why," _she growled hoarsely. "We have plenty of-"

"I know what you have," the girl snapped and shrugged the gun out of her ear. "We came here for Naruto."

Said boy was silent when he noticed that none of their faces made his mind itch. "How do you know my name?" He cautiously asked and gently pushed the pink haired girl away from him.

"We mean no harm," the girl announced with an air of great authority. "We just-"

"You've caused harm," Karin shoved the girl away from Juugo and planted her foot in her stomach. "You've caused _severe _harm. You're going to pay for-"

"Karin," Naruto held up his hands, greatly disturbed with the amount of violence Karin was displaying.

The pink haired girl wiped her face and stood her ground, looking considerably stronger than she had sobbing into his neck. "I'm gravely sorry for what harm Ino has caused," she started and made eye contact with the opposing group. "This situation could have been avoided by approaching you lot in a friendly manner and asking you to return Naruto to us. This-"

"What?" Naruto interrupted. "'Return to us'? I don't think-"

"Naruto doesn't belong to you," Suigetsu cut in and bared Kusanagi. Naruto's heart clenched at the sight of it and wanted to convince giving it back to Sasuke.

The pink haired girl tilted her head and offered a gentle smile. "Well, it's obvious he's being held captive-"

"Captive?" Suigetsu spat in front of her feet. "Sure as hell ain't being held captive. Wouldn't the fucker already'a run away if he was bein' held _captive?" _The word rolled off his tongue sourly. "And don't get sly with me, you bitch."

Naruto cringed at the name calling and tried to intervene, but the girl appeared five times larger than she actually was with her confidence.

"Yes, captive," she spat and wrapped an iron-like grip around Naruto's arm. "You lot stole him from us-"

"There was no stealing going on around here." Karin stood up and dropped the gun to the ground. "A member of our group found Naruto injured and alone, fallen off a two story building. It sure seems like you _left _him. We took him in and I diagnosed him with a severe concussion and amnesia."

The girl was silent and she made eye contact with Naruto. She was about the same size as Karin and they both seemed to have fierce personalities and strong wills.

"I'm Sakura," she suddenly said and turned to Naruto like she expected him to remember something. He felt nothing except learning something new. Sakura nodded her head at the boy with the green scarf. "We're not a violent group, I promise. That's Konohamaru, he's thirteen. I'm sorry if this came too far than it needed, but the only thing I can offer in apology is the top doctor of Konoha."

Karin said nothing and nodded to Suigetsu. He sheathed Kusanagi and leant against a pillar of the playground.

"That's Ino," Sakura nodded at the blonde girl. "He's Kiba and that's his tracker dog, Akamaru." She pointed at the red-cheeked boy and gave Kakashi a gentle look, asking him to get off of Akamaru. The man did and the dog whined and stretched before barreling over to Kiba. She helped the long haired man to his feet and he didn't regard any of them. "This is Neji, and we have plenty more members as the group Naruto was with."

Naruto opened his mouth to introduce himself but snapped it shut when he remembered that they already knew him. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo introduced themselves. Karin explained the results of Ino's actions and Sasuke's medical condition. Sakura nodded along and offered her hand as she was the same blood type as the boy, but Karin stated that it was fine and he already received some from Naruto.

Ino scoffed and crossed her arms in the background of the conversation. Out of all the times she finally took charge, she did something wrong.

"I'll send a message to our group that we found him and for Tsunade to come prepared." Sakura smiled and set her gaze on Naruto. "Do you mind if I have a look at this Sasuke?"

Naruto hesitated but nodded and beckoned to the direction of the hospital.

* * *

><p>AN: Wow, last chapter was a cliffie and you guys only gave me 2 reviews from it. -growls- But I hope you guys like this chapter even though it's a really awkward phase in the story. Do you trust the Konoha group? Just because they're good in canon doesn't mean they'll be the good guys in my fic. -winks-


	8. Walking on Ice

Chapter 7: Walking on Ice

* * *

><p>When the whole group reached the hospital, Naruto dug Dr. Snakes' identification card from his pocket and thrust it in front of the lab scanner. The doors slid open to another view of hopelessly shattered glass. He clumsily gathered Karin in his arms and she flailed and batted at his head a bit through the whole walk through the lab. When he set her down, Karin quickly jogged to the U turn of the hospital that led to its patient rooms, her feet slapping loudly on the hospital's marble floor.<p>

Naruto shied away from Skully's room and gently knocked on Sasuke's wooden door, pushing it open when a grunt was heard from inside.

Before his eyes even adjusted to the brightness of the room, the cocking of a gun and the pang of a knife was heard. His eyes got used to fluorescent light and Itachi stood protectively in front of his brother with a sleek handgun in his left hand and the same knife Sasuke had been stabbed with behind him in his right. The man growled and shoved the chair he had been sitting in out of the way, tensing up and setting himself in an offensive position.

"Itachi, it's okay, these are the p-" Karin tried to interlude but she was quickly interrupted by the brunet.

"Which one of you shot this knife," he spat at all of them and tossed the gun to the side so hard that it bounced off the wall and skidded under the bed. He switched his feet and bared the blade with a tight grip and glared at all of them. "Tell me right now or all of you die slowly."

Ino scoffed and removed the hood off of her blonde head, crossing her arms and jutting an eyebrow at the man. "It was me. Why the hell are you people making such a big-"

Before anyone could tell that he even moved, Itachi had Ino pinned to the wall with the butcher's knife over the exact same spot that his brother had been stabbed in.

The room was silent and Ino clenched her jaw when the man dug the blade hard enough into her that her cloak ripped and the cool metal kissed her skin.

"An eye for an eye, am I correct?" Itachi hissed and tickled the blade along her skin, some tendrils of his hair escaping over his shoulder and brushing her forehead. "Maybe you don't understand the _seriousness_ of this situation, the _critical condition_ of my brother. Maybe I'll just stab you like you did to him and leave you to bleed outside like a whore."

Kiba shoved the brunet away from Ino and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Back the fuck off, man, we already apo-"

"Apologies don't fix anything!" Itachi yelled and struck him in the jaw. "I am above all of you. Every single one of you will treat me with respect. You are under my hostage and I will-"

"Itachi, stop," Naruto cut in and held up a hand. "They've got the best doctor that was in Konoha in their group, and they're offering that as an apology for Sasuke." He glanced over to the boy whose blood bag was empty and looked slightly more normal.

"'Hell's wrong with 'er lot," Konohamaru slurred his piece and chewed on a piece of gum. "'S like you got-" Akamaru bit him in the ankle and the boy immediately shut up and nearly pissed himself when Itachi turned that glare on him.

"How the hell do you believe these fuckers?" Itachi paced in front of all of them and snarled at a weak looking pink-haired girl. "And what did they want in the first damn place?" He flicked the knife at the white dog and it whimpered at the glimmer of it in the room lights.

"Well," Naruto slumped his shoulders a bit and up righted the chair Itachi had kicked earlier to rest next to his friend. "Sakura here said I was a part of their group, before I got the amnesia."

"Dumbass," Itachi laughed emptily and picked up his gun to switch the safety off and point it at Sakura. "How the hell do you know they just haven't been tracking us and gathering our information?"

"I have," Ino gazed out the room window in a bored manner. "But I can bring up information and old photos of Naruto to prove that he was, especially stories from Jiraiya."

Naruto frowned at the name and Kakashi's silver eyebrows shot into the sky. "Itachi, lower your gun. These are good people." Kakashi looked less amused when he didn't. "Now."

Itachi huffed and flicked the safety on, but still stood in front of his brother in a protective gesture. Naruto idly poked at Sasuke's warm and bare shoulder.

Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and set his dominating gaze on the Konoha group. "Jiraiya and I have been friends for a long time," he drawled and patted Ino on top of the head. "I know he probably put you up to his. Isn't any place for a kid."

Ino pursed her lips but relaxed at his casual aura. "I'm sorry it came to this," she glanced at a figure blocked by Itachi but she could tell Naruto was fiddling with it somehow. "We thought Naruto was taken hostage."

"Understandable," Kakashi quipped and shifted his weight. "But doesn't explain why you couldn't have taken a friendlier approach. We're all just trying to survive here, aren't we?"

Ino grumbled something along the lines of how she hadn't thought of it and the camp just wanted the blond back. "After this, we'll take Naruto in our greatest apologies and I hope we can move onto this."

"That doesn't seem to be acceptable," Kakashi smiled and leant down into her face. "We aren't just letting him go like that, and I'm sure he doesn't want to leave like that. He's made friends, right, Naru?"

Naruto ceased his poking of Sasuke's soft skin and rolled the fact around in his brain. He nodded and crossed his ankles, leaning back into the chair and sighing at the drama he knew was about to ensue.

"And I'm sure you'll have Tsunade and the rest of your group here by nightfall." The silver haired man added. "We want Sasuke awake by tomorrow."

Ino's eyes widened when she took in the information that this man actually did know Jiraiya and his childhood friend, Tsunade. She viewed Kakashi in a new light and merely nodded.

"Sakura and I would like to have a look at the member of your group, if you wouldn't mind," she slipped off her cloak and stood in khaki pants and a light green tunic. "We're both medics."

"Ah," Kakashi leant back from her face and sighed pleasantly. "So is our Karin. Won't you girls get along?"

Sakura offered a small smile to the redhead and jerkily headed towards the bed, nodding to Itachi but he never gave up the intensity of his glare.

She looked at the boy's face and blushed prettily at how handsome he was. She lifted the blanket to his waist and folded it, immediately getting distracted and grimacing at his injury. She felt along his collarbone and gently turned him on his side to feel his unfortunately shattered shoulder blade.

"You have very nice stitching skills," Sakura murmured absently in appraisal to the skin drawn perfectly together. "I'm going to realign his collarbone further," she announced and set two fingers on the thin bone, tucking its broken discs tighter together. She grimaced when she caught sight of his heavily bruised shoulder and didn't set a finger on it. "I suggest we power up an x-ray machine." She made eye contact with Karin and Kakashi.

"What I thought," Karin grumbled and crossed her arms. "You think he'll need surgery to correct it?"

Sakura quickly shook her head. "He'll just have difficulty rotating it when it's completely healed; I just want to check for missing pieces that might have been taken out with the knife."

Ino shook her head from the foot of the bed. "That's going to take a while to heal," she griped.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Itachi spat.

Ino only sighed and ignored the tall man. She peeked around him and was immediately enraptured with the big hunk of handsome that Naruto was drooling on.

Before she could lunge at him, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Why don't we get him that x-ray while you bring your group here?" he suggested and smiled.

The blonde grumbled under her breath and trudged outside.

* * *

><p>Sakura, Kiba and his dog had proved to be enjoyable and resourceful company. Kiba was willing to fetch certain medical supplies they needed and Sakura lent her helping medical hand.<p>

She politely explained the x-ray to Itachi who had no reaction whatsoever. He only nodded when she told him that his brother was going to be perfectly fine. Sakura sent him a wary look when the man seemed to completely relax (or, as relaxed as an uptight being like him could be) and leaned shadily against the wall. Something about him wasn't right, she thought to herself and frowned.

Naruto had been napping all over the place every time they switched places in the hospital. Karin had explained that the boy had given two and a half pints of blood to Sasuke, who looked smug about healthy blood running through his veins even as he slept. His skin was back to its healthy ivory that Karin could only remember from their toddling days, not the pasty sheet white it had been for years. Karin griped about it to Juugo who only smiled and chuckled a bit, giving his small friend a rough pat on the shoulder that nearly sent her flying across the room.

Suigetsu hadn't said a word in a while once he saw how pale Sasuke had used to be and the horrid x-ray of his shoulder. He glanced at the straight stitches running on his breast and over his shoulder and wished for his gallon bottle of water. He swallowed roughly. The white haired boy grimly slipped Kusanagi from his belt loops with a quiet zip and laid it by Sasuke's side on his bed. Maybe it would help protect Sasuke from injuries like these again in the future, he hoped. Perhaps he wouldn't have gotten this hurt if Suigetsu had just given up the damn thing and been fair in his bet.

A few hours slugged by and Naruto only roused from his sleep once to use the restroom. He wrapped a blanket around himself and butted his head into Sasuke's side, pursing his lips into the mattress. He gently snored when sleep reclaimed him.

Sakura stood behind the pair and reached forward to gently run her fingers through soft blond hair. She had missed Naruto's glowing presence, his subtly perverted comments, and his immature sense of humor. But beyond that, she knew Naruto was aged well past his actual years with the deaths of his original group. She weakly smiled when he practically purred and nuzzled against Sasuke's side, causing the boy to snort in his sleep and inch away and Naruto to snort back and creep closer. His snores rose to a crescendo in volume until Sakura's nose twitched and she shifted his jaw for him, silencing them.

She watched the duo for a few more moments and giggled when Sasuke appeared to reach out for something in his dreams, but his arm going lax and smacking Naruto in the face with his elbow. The blond awoke with a start and his head darted from side to side, eyes unfocused and the side of his mouth wet with drool. He rested his lazy gaze on Sakura, slumping over his chair and playing dead. "I'm hungry!" He whined.

She caught herself rolling her eyes. "You're going to have to wait for food," she scolded, but her face softened considerably when she saw he had already fallen asleep in his sprawled position.

Her delicate features hardened once again once she considered the circumstances of this situation. From what she had learned, Naruto had hit his head so hard that he seemed to have some sort of permanent amnesia. According to Karin he had recalled significantly little information of his life before the group he had been… adopted by. Even if there was information that he could call up with reminders like Itachi's gun, most of them were gone, dead, extinct, whatever she'd like to call it. It wasn't like she could recreate Konoha and bring his past group back to life to make him remember, and force on him some tragic moments.

In their childhood days at Konoha, when Naruto lived in the partial ghetto with the rest of the town orphans, his closest companions had been the group of nine Jinchuuriki that took him under their wing. When the Sectors had been divided and Danzo had tried to eliminate the younger generations, he had made promise with Tsunade that he would spend a certain amount of time with the nine and then migrate to their group, like a cycle. It had been unfortunate that the Jinchuuriki had accidentally crossed into a secured portion of Two and had been murdered by Katons and scouts. Concluded from what the shady entity Gaara had told them, anyway.

But in the end, on well terms or not, Naruto would be returning to his rightful group. It would be a clearly helpful decision for his memory if he were back in a familiar environment and not with an unstable, small group like Kakashi's. In this world, it was quantity, not quality, of which the silver haired man's group was three-sixths fighting material and five percent healing material. Tsunade's group was standing steady with thirteen people of four medics and a dog, all of them ready for battle.

She was jarred out of her unfair thoughts when Itachi slipped through the room door. He regarded her with a cool gaze before hovering over his brother again, tucking a glossy lock of cold toned hair behind his ear. The man gingerly touched Sasuke's collarbone, slightly grimacing when he felt the sharp lumps and soft empty spaces in the area one would usually feel smooth bone. It was bruising yellow and would be near black by the next day. Itachi wondered when his brother would be healed to his best composition and didn't notice when he spoke the question out loud.

"Six weeks," Sakura murmured and schooled her face. "It's a wonder why his muscle wasn't torn…"

Itachi's handsome face flicked to her for but a second and he rested thin fingers on rough stitches. "How will you treat him when he wakes up? Wouldn't a sling-"

Sakura chuckled when she thought about the sling Sasuke would need. "He's going to look pretty ridiculous for a while. He'll need a different type of sling – a cuff sling – it supports like a necklace and holds his wrist like a cuff. It won't hurt his collarbone and will set his shoulder for healing. I'm sure that if we can get our hands on our own group's _correct _equipment, his healing time would be shortened more than two times."

The brunet glared at the girl when she interrupted him. Bold one, even more so at the moment than Karin. But at least Karin respected his superiority. At least Karin had common sense to talk shit behind his back and not to his face. This Sakura girl gave him the impression that she thought she was higher than him, more intelligent. What made such a group like hers that was made of idiots stronger than his own? Well, he had one thought for that: No. And this behavior, her unspoken thoughts would stop soon. He rose to his full height and squared his shoulders, narrowing his eyes and stepping closer to her.

"Do not look or speak to me as if I am below you. I know as a fact that, now and in the end, I am stronger than you in all aspects. You will regard me as your elder, superior, and temporary leader, child. Doing things like inter-"

"My apologies for the misunderstanding, _Uchiha,_" Sakura met eyes with the towering, devilishly handsome man and clenched her fists. "I'm sorry to break it to you that I am _not _a member of your small group and I have no written rules to recognize you as what you just asked me to. It's you that-"

"Weak female," the man spat and appeared in front of her to be stories taller than her, a building made of obsidian and cold black, empty and destroyed.

"I'm not weak in any way," she countered just as snippily and tilted her head towards the hospital bed, keeping her eyes glued to narrow ones. "But _baby brother_ seems to be perfectly vulnerable."

"It only makes sense to target the weakest one in the room," Itachi loomed over her once again. "as a woman."

"For how much you talked about being superior to me, you sure are fixed on your immature sexist insults."

They both started when a deep voice grumbled from the right. "Itachi, stop taking your anger out on the girls."

When they had been arguing, Sakura and Itachi hadn't noticed when Sasuke had jerked awake and sat up in the bed on his own. His mouth tasted like blood and acid and dirt and he wanted to do nothing more than brush his teeth at the moment, and perhaps take another shower. His arm was numb, the medically induced kind of numb, and he could barely feel the characteristic tightness of Karin's stitches in his shoulder. Naruto let out a few ridiculously loud snores to his left. Sasuke curled his lip and reached behind his back with his right arm, grasping the thick pillow in his arm and hurling it at the blond's head.

It startled the blond so much that his chair knocked over backwards and he fumbled around to right himself. When he finally opened his heavy eyes, it was to the sight of Sakura and Itachi having a staring contest and Sasuke giving him an irritated look with his left arm resting limply on his lap.

"Hey!" he called out to Sasuke and righted the wooden chair, sprawling in it once again. "Does your arm hurt?"

He saw an unidentified emotion flicker in black eyes and falter a firm look. He nearly frowned before Sasuke answered.

"No," he turned his head to look down at his significantly bruised collarbone and stitched shoulder. "No, it just feels weird. Doesn't hurt."

"Can I… touch it?" Sasuke looked up to be met with shockingly close blue eyes and a curious face. He thought about how he had only seen water as blue as Naruto's eyes in picture books and paintings and thickly gulped to nod his approval.

The blond held their eye contact for another moment, then directed his attention lower to bruised skin. He carefully reached out with his hand and poked at Sasuke's collarbone, watching the boy watch him watching him. The raven was regarding him out of the corner of his eye and gave him a single nod. He smiled a little and applied a bit more pressure, inwardly wincing at shattered bone. He poked his way up a pale shoulder and skirted around delicate stitches to the swollen area of the raven's back.

"What did it feel like?" Naruto leaned back, but enough to be considered leaning forward in his seat. Sasuke idly scratched at his inner elbow and frowned.

"It was cold. The knife, I mean. I guess that's what hurt the most about it, because it felt like it was practically frozen. I felt my collarbone break," Sasuke pursed his lips and tilted his head towards him. "Like the crunch of breaking a branch."

Naruto made a baffled noise and such a face at his morbidity that Sasuke snorted and bit his lip a bit.

In a way, Naruto caring about how he felt was… different. Sasuke knew that Itachi would worry about him in situations like these only when he was injured and up until about the point when someone would tell him how long it would take Sasuke to heal. Then his brother brushed him off and expected him to be back in shape practically right after he took his first few steps out of the hospice bed. Then it would be back to looting, growing, hunting, working, travelling, never resting and always on the tips of their toes and sleeping their little hours with one eye open. There was a physical fatigue that Sasuke would sometimes feel, but a different fatigue, a mental sluggishness and dreary mindset that would haunt his mind would set in when things got too busy like this because he knew in the end, they were running towards a false haven, an empty golden pot, wasting medical supplies on him in run down deserted towns. Exiles. Exiles was what they were. Eliminated from their Sectors because they were deemed useless or troublesome. Maybe, in a different universe, they would have had a better chance at surviving. Instead of one where it was survival of the fittest and certain people were deemed too slow, too much trouble.

His mind set back to when he was six, when he and Itachi's parents had been travelling with them for three days after the cleaning of Oto. Three days was all it took for Itachi to deem their parents too slow, too old, too demanding, and drown them both in a lake. Sasuke wished there was a world where people respected each other as equals and were united under one another, living peacefully as they did like when he was a toddler.

Maybe, in a different world, there would be enough time for things boys his age used to fret over and to relax. He read in tattered books that they liked sports, and girls. Was that it? Maybe they liked bugs? He didn't even know anymore. Sasuke could see no time to fit something like a girl in his life. Karin had already wiggled herself into most of his time, anyway, and Sasuke barely even recognized her as a girl except for when he caught accidental glimpses of her cleavage. Karin was as strong as the rest of them, perhaps even more so headstrong than Itachi. He admired her for that, but never in a romantic way.

He was freed from his thoughts when the hospital room door was firmly knocked on, then shoved open hard enough to make it slam against the wall and shut again. Sasuke tensed and glanced at Naruto, then to Itachi and Sakura, who were both staring at the door that looked like it hadn't even been disturbed. The door opened in a gentle manner this time, a dark-haired girl with nearly white eyes stepping in and offering the people in the room a smile.

"Hinata!" Sakura scuttled over to the girl and attached herself to her by the hip. Hinata nodded and whispered something in her ear.

Akamaru trotted in and nearly knocked Hinata over with an affectionate lick then bound over to Naruto and rested his head on the blond's lap. Naruto grinned and pet the dog on his huge head, chuckling when the dog seemed to smile and slobber all over his chair.

Two boys with questionable presences practically slithered in, one with a trench coat and sunglasses and the other who planted himself behind Hinata and regarding nobody else but her in the room. The boy with the trench coat nodded at Sasuke and faltered in a familiar gesture towards the blond when he realized the boy was looking at him like someone new.

The next amount of people that poured in made Sasuke uncomfortable. There had to be almost twenty people staring him and Naruto down now, and he turned to the blond to get the burns on his neck of being watched to go away. It seemed like Naruto had the same goal, the both of them equally as new to these people. Sasuke looked for recognition in Naruto's eyes and was slightly… appreciative? Slightly appreciative to find none. Naruto gently poked him in the side through his blankets.

The door barreled open once again and a blonde woman and a man with long white hair stormed in. They immediately stalked towards Naruto and startled Sasuke a bit with their serious faces and tense postures. Were these people spies to evict them to a Sector and be eliminated? He set his hand on the blond's shoulder and shifted, trying to warn him-

And was startled even further when the woman practically hurled herself at Naruto, gathered him in her arms and pressed him into her large bosom. Naruto flailed his arms a bit and tried to push her away, shoving at her stomach and groaning for help.

"I can't breathe!" He whined, muffled.

The man with long hair and warts on his face chuckled. "We looked for you high and low, idiot."

The blond finally freed himself from the confines of overly large breasts and turned to the man beside him. "What? Who are you?" He looked between the two, then pivoted to the other people in the hospital room. Sasuke looked a bit constipated with irritation at how his room was flooded with people he didn't know.

The man's mouth remained open in pause from what he was about to say and then shut, a grim look overtaking his face and crossing his beefy arms. "It's true, isn't it?" he said under his breath. "You really can't remember even long term memories."

He looked for the hearty red head of hair that he trusted most with his medical problems. Karin wasn't in the room and the closest thing he found to her was the pink haired girl, Sakura.

"Um," his voice was awkwardly wavering. "Just bits and pieces, but for the most part, no, I can't."

The woman with blonde pigtails shook her head. "I was hoping you'd have regained your memory," she drew out and clasped her hands in front of her mouth. "You had a lot of memories, Naruto. Ones I'm sure that you'd want to forget, and ones I'm sure that you used to never want to. But, it has only been a week and a half since you've been missing from us and you still have a window of memory open." She set her hand on his head and ruffled his hair. "Now, that's not what I came here for. Came here to fix what Ino fucked up," she smirked at the girl hiding in the corner of the room.

The woman approached Sasuke and he flinched when she pressed the back of her hand against his forehead and rubbed his cheeks. She pressed her pointer and middle fingers to the pulse in his neck and rubbed the joint of his jaw with her thumbs a bit to relax it.

"Ah, Sasuke," she set a hand over stitches that he couldn't tell were cold. "I've heard about you from Kakashi. I'm Tsunade, and I was the lead doctor here in Konoha before it was destroyed. Can you tell me who took care of your wounds?"

Sasuke tugged his head away from her hand and paused. "Karin," he told her. "Where is she?"

"She went to get clothes for herself and you," Kakashi peeked into the doorway and smiled a bit. "Good to see you bright eyed and bushy tailed, Sasuke."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the raven and rubbed at his collarbone. "You can trust me," she murmured under her breath just so only he could hear. "What's your blood type?" She abruptly said in her regular voice.

Sasuke cast a glance at the other people in the room and then back at Tsunade. She looked over her shoulder and nodded to Jiraiya, who yelled something about nothing for there to be heard and to get something to eat and herded the people out the door. All who were left were Itachi, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Naruto.

"B negative," he stated and idly scratched the back of his neck. That and his back ached and itched at the same time, his telltale signs that he had had a transfusion. He knew they would escalate soon now that he had woken up.

"Figures you would be unlucky enough to have that type in this world," she shook her head. "Would have been a blessing if you were AB. They can receive from all blood types."

"Okay," Sasuke said and felt slightly uncomfortable with the look she was giving him, like she was inspecting him.

Tsunade stared at him with piercing honey eyes before letting out a loud snort and performing multiple actions on his numb arm. She poked in places that made it bend and his fingers flex, and a certain spot by his shoulder that made it go up. The woman poked at his collarbone and shoulder blade before humming neutrally and rummaging through her pockets.

"Got what you need," she grunted and produced a transparent purple ointment from her pocket. "State of the art bone marrow cream from Oto. If you let me use this on you, your bones will be healed in a week. If you don't, you'll look like an idiot for over a month in a neck sling." She held up a contraption with two loops for his viewing.

"How do we know that's not poison?" Itachi cut in and strode to their side of the bed. "Try it on yourself first."

She snorted again and twisted the cap open on the bottle, dabbing it slightly on the back of her hand and waiting a few moments for the purple hue to sparkle and dissolve. She handed the bottle to Itachi for him to inspect and boredly rested her chin in her hand.

"Am I dead?" She quipped and patted Sasuke's thigh. "It'll be better for you to have this, anyway. It'll get you back to normal faster, and it'll be useful on the go."

Itachi flared his nostrils and handed the tube back to Tsunade. Sasuke tilted his head to the side to bare his throat and winced when she rubbed the cold ointment on his skin. It burned for a few moments at first, but then it hardened like stone and he felt the sensation of creeping roots invading his veins when it dissolved and gave an innocent sparkle. She patted more of it on his shoulder blade and he pushed himself through the strange steps of it setting in.

"Did you steal it from Oto?" Sasuke wondered and winced when she applied another coat.

"Kami, hell no," Tsunade barked out a laugh and patted him roughly on his back. "We had a member of our camp that was a spy from Oto. When we killed him, we took his medical supplies."

Silence breached the room and she suddenly pulled the bag under his eye down, peeked into his eye and let go before Sasuke had time to react. She touched his hands and clamped her thumb just before the beginning of his inner elbow. Then she clamped her hands over his ears and bent to rub at his feet. Sasuke felt like an experiment rat, with all the poking and prodding he was undergoing.

"Anemia's gotten better," she smiled and changed Sasuke's bandages. He blanched and furrowed his eyebrows. Better? He thought it would have been at its all-time low.

The door creaked open and Karin padded in, clothing in her arms and sniffling a bit. She shrugged her lenses further up her nose. "You can thank Naruto for that," she griped and sounded congested, trudging over to Naruto and handing him a thick orange sweater. "I gave you a direct transfusion with a syringe Itachi pulled out of nowhere." She sat down on his bed and handed him an oversized fleece fourth-zip. "Figured you'd fit into that easier with your cast," she rasped and coughed into her elbow.

"Are you sick?" Sasuke couldn't believe it. Karin, the girl who got skittish even when Juugo sneezed, had caught a cold?

"Well, if you damn idiots hadn't made me run around in a fucking towel maybe I wouldn't be!"

"Direct transfusion?" he recalled, "What the hell is that?"

The redhead rubbed her eyes and nodded at Naruto, stealing Sasuke's pillow and burying her face in it. Naruto smiled at Sasuke and pointed at his arm.

"Well, Itachi had this thing Karin called a double sided syringe, and it basically sent my blood to you. 'Cause, you know, I have O, and you have B, and O can be given to anybody…" he lamely finished and tapped his fingers together, searching for a better grand finale. "I gave you some of my awesome blood, two and a half pints." He flexed his biceps and grinned.

"You did?" Sasuke said disbelievingly and sat up a bit straighter. A stable iron count? Could he finally go over ten miles from their camp without practically having an asthma attack? Could he sleep better, sleep more, sleep less at unnecessary times? Would his feet be warm now with better circulation? He glanced at the obvious needle puncture at the inside of his elbow. _Naruto would do that? Well, he would, and he has. Kami…_

Tsunade interrupted his thoughts by chuckling and ruffling his hair. "Slow down, bugger," She lifted the blankets and Sasuke crossed his legs once they were hit by the coldness of the room. Some point in when he had been unconscious, Itachi had probably changed him into the grey sweatpants he was wearing now. "Let's get you in that cast."

Sasuke nodded and dragged his legs to the edge of the bed. He was barefooted and he idly wondered what happened to his shoes. The raven set his feet on the ground and stood up, but immediately regretting it and scowling when they reacted to the coldness of the tile floor and he balanced himself on the outside of his feet.

"Bah, hang your shoulder over. Loosen it," Tsunade patted his arm and held his wrist to his stomach. "Hold your wrist there with your other hand and relax it," she set a hand on his shoulder and shoved him out the door. Naruto and Itachi followed him, Tsunade shutting the room door and leading them down the hallway into a main lobby. Whether that was his blood on the tiled ground he rather wouldn't know.

Itachi strolled along at his side and Sasuke found himself more irritated than he should have been by it. "I lost your shoes," he said dismissively. The raven only sent his brother a glance. It was always like this, and it would always _be_ like this – Itachi deeming him completely okay to do anything once he was awake and not dead. It was like the man was always taking a chance when his younger brother got hurt and he always got worked up during the injury, but after, it was like he didn't care in the first place. Actually, Sasuke was convinced that his brother didn't fucking care at all, like back at camp. Like when he told Sasuke he would let him die if he didn't find iron supplements on his own. Like when he told him he wasn't allowed to make a new friend. His body temperature was rising and Sasuke snapped himself out of his angst and walked ahead of Itachi.

He walked with light steps behind the woman who probably worked in this hospital. She led them through a forked hallway, thankfully carpeted, and approached a set of military grade metal doors with a card scanner on them. Naruto held up a card and the door slowly raised open, revealing what seemed to be a destroyed lab with shattered glass on the ground and areas burnt on the ground from certain chemicals. Sasuke hesitated and his bare foot hovered over the tile floor. There was shards of glass literally everywhere, and-

He didn't feel that startled when Naruto put an arm behind his knees and hoisted him into tan arms, so that his right shoulder was pressing into his chest and Itachi looked like a severely abused and angry cat. The blond wrapped an arm around his stomach and grunted a bit. "God damn, why are you so heavy when you don't look it?" he complained and crunched through broken glass.

Sasuke ignored him in favor of staring at burnt glass bottles with names and numbers on them. There was a dead snake in the corner of the room as well as a bottle of some white liquid. He noticed some untouched, pristine bottles lined in perfect rows.

He winced when Naruto set him down back onto the cold floor, the warmth in his back leaving him and being replaced by stress. He followed Tsunade when she turned to the side into a large supply room and pulled out three of the same contraptions she had showed him earlier and inspecting their information.

She unwrapped one and set a sling over his head, a stiff plastic rod coming down to his stomach and ending in a wrist cuff. She guided his hand into it and made slight adjustments before leading him out of the room.

"Don't try to change shirts by yourself, don't put your arm through a sleeve, don't take the damn sling off, don't do anything besides put a shirt on from this point on, you brat." She turned down the hallway opposite from the lab.

Itachi was reminded of the fourth-zip Karin had given Sasuke, and immediately held it out for his brother. He poked his head through and shrugged his right arm into the sleeve, keeping his left arm uncomfortably slung inside the fleece.

Tsunade pulled a card out of her pocket to unlock a different set of doors that held what seemed like miles of file cabinets and led their team through there, stepping on loose sheets of handwritten papers. They came to another set of doors that automatically opened and veered off into the right, a large glass window to their left with flickering lights and rows of empty incubators with moth-eaten pink and blue blankets still resting inside of them. Some of the incubators were slightly crooked in their row and some were boldly knocked over, empty baby bottles littered everywhere as well as diapers and rubber nipples.

Naruto eyed the scene with sadness and turned away before he could dwell on what happened to those babies.

The woman led them to another set of open double doors that appeared to be the hospital's food court, with dirty blue tiles and walls and circular white tables with benches. The people from earlier and Suigetsu and Juugo congregated and laughing at a story the man with long hair was boasting about. They all silenced and turned at heavy footsteps, and most of the people turned their eyes to a familiar whiskered face that could only do nothing but ask them to introduce themselves.

Jiraiya stood before the group and clamped a hand down on Sasuke's and Naruto's shoulders, Sasuke immediately slapping his arm away when he felt a bolt of pain shoot up his bones.

"Sorry, kiddo," he patted his head and turned his large body to him. "And a greater, more formal apology about this incident that's left you severely injured."

Sasuke said nothing and set his burning obsidian eyes on Ino, who looked much too pampered to be living in the wild with her long neat ponytail and unmarred skin. She herself regarded him with a bit of excitement, with his handsome face and delicious color scheme… but then he reminded her a bit of Sai, with his fake smile and passive-perverted slash intrusive jokes and questions.

"So," the man announced and stood in the middle of the large group, "we've got matters we need to discuss."

Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and pretended to blow smoke off of his pretend finger guns, setting them on his hips and squinting his eyes. "I believe we do."

"Let's get to the point," Jiraiya drew out and shifted his weight to one foot. "We want Naruto back."

"I can see why," Kakashi said dismissively and tilted his head. "But he has made friends in our group and I doubt he wants to go into unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar people."

"We're not necessarily unfamiliar," Jiraiya countered. "Just unremembered and with medical knowledge to _make _us remembered."

"Um," Naruto raised his hand and cut in. "I'm right here."

"We don't know if you lot are a group of spies just saying you are his group."

"Oh, hell," Tsunade groaned and rolled her eyes, "this again?"

"We can only promise that we're not, and it's to Naruto's best interest that he comes home with us."

"Naruto doesn't remember home."

"I'm right fucking here!"

"Naruto will never forget home, he is in the springtime of his youth!"

"Not the damn time, Lee!"

"Why don't we let him choose-"

"Let him choose? He's not in the position to. He doesn't _remem_-"

"Shut up! If you don't hand him over, I'll shoot your fucking brains out!"

"Neji, calm down, please-"

"Aw, Akamaru shit on the floor! Damn it, bad boy!"

"He'll remember home once he returns to it."

"That's enough!" Tsunade hollered and slammed her foot on the ground. "All of you are acting immaturely and irrationally. Jiraiya, even you have lost your level head." The woman turned to Kakashi and bowed her head. "I'm sorry for the violence we've brought upon you all."

"It's frankly not excusable," Itachi snapped and glared at the boy named Neji.

Tsunade didn't react and instead voiced her proposal. "My vote it to combine our groups and work together in peace, as we are both friends of Naruto's."

Said boy smiled. "I like that idea!"

"With your death threats, how do we know you're trustworthy?" Itachi cut in and frowned.

"We can only promise you that we are trustworthy and work side by side," Tsunade nodded. "And it seems like you have a greater reason to stay with us," she pointedly glanced at Sasuke and set a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I promise that we have a great amount of food and water, and plenty of shelter. We even have a hunter who leaves often to bring meat."

Jiraiya set his head down. "I agree with this choice also," he announced. "it will make us all stronger."

Most of the group nodded their approvals, save for the ones with more violent tendencies.

A few hours later, greetings and introductions had been exchanged as well as a few daunting and scary stories. At one point someone had brought warm food and Naruto chewed his soup on a bench next to Sasuke, who was balancing in his state of skin and paling at some moments and looking healthy the next. They both went back up to his hospital room to retrieve a cold-stricken Karin.

When Sasuke was picking up the pillow she had left behind, he noticed something hard in the bed and wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. He moved his hand up a bit and thought it was the railing of the bed, but lifted it anyway to make sure.

His eyes narrowed when he saw iridescent navy and he yanked the sheets down to reveal Kusanagi, glittering in glory and looking well-polished. The action startled Naruto but once he saw what was bundled in the sheets, he shot a hundred-watt grin at Sasuke.

Naruto picked Kusanagi up by the sheath and pointed it towards Sasuke. He grabbed the handle with his right hand, his fingers automatically falling into their natural worn burrows on its handle, and unsheathed the blade, both of their complexions reflecting in its flawless metal.

Naruto smiled at him. "You got it back from Suigetsu!"

Sasuke let a small smile slip and sheathed Kusanagi. "Yeah," he said softly and tucked his sword under his thumb and along his arm. In truth, he felt one hundred percent more sure of himself now that Suigetsu had surrendered his chokutō.

"How good are you with it?" Naruto wondered aloud and rubbed his hands together from the cold.

"If you ask me, very," Sasuke quipped. "And if you ask anyone else; very." He smiled.

The blond chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Don't be stuck up."

"I'm not, I promise."

Karin leaned against the door frame and chuckled.

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><p>AN: Wow, it's been a long week. Cold one, at that. This laptop was making strange noises all through the production of its chapter, like it was wheezing and coughing. ;-; I think it's been a long life of abuse for this poor 4 year old thing. Stupid Windows. I think it's time for a Mac. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter! And from here on out, I think my updates will be coming weekly and a bit over that time as my professors get back in their overworking style. -rolls over and dies-

What did you guys about Naruto picking up Sasuke? I thought it might be too effeminate as I wrote it, but hell, -Miley Cyrus voice-_ it's my fiction I can write what I want_. There are a fair share of excellent stories out here that are strictly NaruSasu or SasuNaru. In fact, other famous authors encourage themselves and others to write whatever the hell they want, so I won't be chickening out during this fic and if I lose readers there's plenty more to replace them... right? :( The next fics I'm thinking of writing are NSN or SNS, whichever. This storyline requires NaruSasu, though, but it has a mind of its own. Blah blah, again, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Until next time!


	9. Hairline Fractures

Chapter 8: Hairline Fractures

**A/N: (Did you read chapter 7? I updated pretty quickly.)**

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><p>When they got back down to the food court with Karin finally dressed in a chunky sweater and what looked like two pairs of leggings under her jeans, Sasuke and Naruto were both ushered to the side of the room by Kakashi.<p>

"Now," he murmured and his gray eye flickered to the laughing group in the center of the cafeteria. "We're going back to camp to pack up and move along with them to their camp by car. They say they stay there permanently and send out trackers by week to look for those abandoned military checkpoints in hope of finding them." Kakashi stuffed his gloved hands in his pockets. "But they say they haven't come that close yet. When we get to camp, Sasuke, I see Suigetsu laid Kusanagi to its rest with you, but take a pumper for yourself as well. We don't know if they'll confiscate our weapons and take another hostile turn on us to take Naruto, so when you're healed you need to teach him how to shoot."

Sasuke nodded and his eyes skirted to Naruto who looked a bit cross. "I still don't see why they could have just asked for me back," he whispered and knotted his arms, "something's not right about them. Maybe not all of them, but a few of them act weird. Like Neji and Ino."

Kakashi nodded his agreement and rubbed his chin. "I don't understand the situation right now, either. The only way to tell if something is or isn't right about that group is by time. Just act normally and stay close to Juugo. Now, we're heading back to our camp to meet the group on the main road by car. They drove here also since their camp is about two hundred miles back. Pack your things up tight and keep your eyes open," the man patted them both heavily on the right shoulders after awkwardly hesitating over Sasuke's left and ambled back to the group.

Jiraiya's group wrenched open the emergency exit door to the west of the hospital cafeteria, waving and bidding goodbyes like "later" and "see you lot". They poured out the door and slammed it to let a gust of howling, freezing wind rush past them.

Sasuke hummed to his side. "Let's get a head start on them," he tilted his chin behind him and strolled to the cafeteria doors. Naruto spared Karin yelling at Suigetsu a glance and popped his neck, lining up beside the raven and turning the hallway corner.

Between the time coming down to the food court and leaving it again, Naruto noticed that somehow Sasuke had acquired a pair of thinly-soled combat boots that looked odd with his grey sweatpants and fleece sweater. He racked his mind for even seeing the pair of boots lying around or something, but he could find no recollection of them. Maybe Karin had gotten them?

The blond tilted his head back and raised his eyebrows to stretch his heavy eyelids. They had been in this hospital for well over a day now and Itachi's moods had helped absolutely none to get some shut eye. He turned to the raven in an attempt to lighten his own mood.

"Hey, Sasuke, when are you gon' teach me how to shoot?"

The boy turned his body to him and set his lips in a line, raising an eyebrow. Naruto's eyes focused on the L-shaped lump in his sweater and laughed a bit, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well, why not a handgun?" He suggested, trying to get Sasuke to stop looking at him like he was a dumbass.

"Well," Sasuke drawled and kicked at a broken light bulb on the ground. "I could teach you how to shoot a handgun, but you need two for a rifle or a shotgun, and we have more of those than handguns. I can use a shotgun with one hand, but if you want to learn properly, I'll need two."

"Ah," Naruto sighed and shuffled his heels when he saw the hospital entrance a corridor in front of them. "I don't mind learning from you with one. Are you as good with them as you say with your sword?"

The corner of Sasuke's lips curled up and he practically tilted his nose to the sky. "I'm a very precise shot," he gloated. "I like shotguns better."

"Stop being stuck up!" Naruto whined and kicked a clipboard to the side, nearing the front desk of the medical center. "And, aren't those like, really loud?" he added.

"I'm not being stuck up, I'm being realistic," the other corner of the raven's lips quirked up. He shoved the entrance door open with his right arm and kicked it farther open for Naruto to shuffle through. "And yeah, they are. We have suppressors though, but they're still loud as hell."

Naruto frowned and nodded, curling in on himself at the weather outside. The sky was a pale gray and he hadn't seen the sun in a good week or so. "Why do you have so many guns?" he wondered aloud and inched closer to the boy. "You guys are like gun galore."

Sasuke was silent long enough for the blond to think that he had ignored him. He scuffed his boot at a frozen rat on the ground, scrunching his nose. Silence reigned over the two as they walked down the street and towards the gas station.

"Our father was a police chief," Sasuke said with a faulty casual air and clenched his fist. "Before we were escorted from One… we had enough time to go to his gun safe and take nearly all of the guns and ammo before the government could get us. We evacuated on our own before they could abduct us. He taught us how to shoot every basic type for the three days he was travelling with us."

Naruto wiggled his fingers in his pockets and clamped his lips shut as to not ask any inappropriate questions, but they flew out like migrating birds anyway. "Did the Katons get him?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered and he frowned at him. "No," he intoned and cast his eyes ahead of himself. "Itachi killed them. They were too old."

Surprisingly, Naruto flinched and kept quiet for a few moments. Their steps were small and slow and they turned into the chilled woods with shadows of branches creeping around them and stretching out to mar the ground in front of them. Then, when Sasuke's foot was just about to touch the dead ground, he was pulled to the side and yanked into a warm chest with welcoming, strong arms and a chin atop his head.

"It didn't have to end that way."

It took him a few moments to react. It took him a few moments to process Naruto had yanked him into a hug and was talking about his parents. It took him a few moments to realize that the blond still hadn't let go and he was possibly squeezing him tighter by the second.

Sasuke shifted roughly in his arms and tried to shove the other boy away with his right arm trapped between his chest and himself but Naruto only squeezed his waist tighter. He struggled again, turning different ways and trying to butt Naruto away but made no progress and winced when his injured shoulder shifted uncomfortably. Well, at least the blond was warm. His cheeks were thawing in his warmth and the raven figured that the only way for Naruto to possibly let him loose was to hug the boy back. He swallowed his pride and slowly wrapped his arm around the other's waist, pressing his forehead against his chest and looking down at their feet which were just inches away from each other. The pain of his parents' death was still partially fresh, but the tears had died long ago and Sasuke decided to cherish this caring action as Itachi never gave him one.

He gulped and pulled the blond closer, burying his whole face in a sturdy chest. An involuntary blurry image of his mother's smiling face, which he had inherited, resurrected itself in his mind and he sighed heavily into Naruto's chest, bunching his shirt in his fist. He remembered being taken care of by her when his father was working long hours, running around the Uchiha compound with too much sugar running through his veins. He remembered her plopping his small body down on the marble kitchen counter to hand him a scarlet pill he was all too familiar with now and a glass of orange juice, patting him on the head and kissing his cheeks. He remembered Itachi walking through the front door and yelling in his high voice that he was home, and toddling towards his big brother with a few toys in his arms to request a few games. Remembered the infant bags under his eyes and his old smile. He remembered his father coming home late at night in his police uniform to tuck him even tighter in bed and whisper about how much bad guys he had beaten up, and at those stories Sasuke would usually get too riled up and have to be shushed back to bed by Mikoto and receive his parents' kisses on either of his cheeks.

He remembered his tender age of six and a half when they had run away from Oto. His father yelling at him to find Itachi as he shoved gun after gun into a duffel bag, swiping his arm along shelves and dumping small boxes in there as well. He remembered perfectly the three days that Itachi had so selfishly decided to let them live. They had been perfectly fine, with his father protecting them from the "bad guys" with his military weapons and intricate combat. He remembered screaming at the top of his lungs as Itachi grabbed their father in a headlock and scuffled around with the larger man until his face had gone purple and crawling over wet grass to dunk his head in the dirty lake. Itachi had had deep scratch lines on his arms after, bleeding and dripping on Fugaku's pale hand with blood under its nails.

He remembered his mother returning from the woods with a basket of berries and a saddened, knowing look on her face. She had set down the basket and kissed Sasuke on the forehead then turned to Itachi. "I know," she had said and tucked a lock of her bangs behind her ear, her eyes glassy and her voice shaking. "Your father taught you well, didn't-"

She had never even gotten to complete her sentence by the time his big brother had shoved her face into the water and held her until she had stopped struggling and gone cold. He could still remember her muffled screams, her shoulders rolling out of place as she tried to kick her son away to no avail. He remembered wailing and sobbing and beating his brother's back, tugging his hair and begging him to let her go. He let go a few hours later. Sasuke's tears hadn't stopped and he crawled over to touch the rancid palm of his mother's hand, frozen and too tender to be considered living.

He was jarred from his memories when the blond ran a warm, comforting palm up and down his aching back, soothing it from his transfusion aches and relaxing in his arms.

Ever since that day, his brother's eyes never held the same volume of care that they used to. Ever since that day, he had built a dominating and superior wall against others, even his own little brother. That event put in his mind that he was the strongest of all, the bravest. To have the raw power to murder his own parents. Death threats could so easily slip out of his fast mouth and lives could be lost at the cause of his bare hands. All the man ever knew how to do anymore was look down to others, touch with the intention of killing, smile with the intention of deceiving, and kill with the intention of hurting. His only loyal childhood friends had been Deidara and Kisame, who proved not to be so loyal by clearing out the iron in the town last week. Even then had Itachi told him that he would let the raven die. Sasuke had subtly shielded himself in the past from his brother's mean comments and narrow thoughts, blocked out his taunts of his weakness and tried to raise his personality on his own. Even now, every day it wavered with Itachi's passive aggressive comments and insults. These days, it wasn't Itachi yelling at him in worry and stress anymore. It was with the malicious intent of lining up his pieces and pawns in the sick game that he had been developing over the years, closing himself off to others in order to focus on just that.

There was even a time where he had been at his lowest mental state and Karin had suddenly come along with her vast knowledge and quick temper, confident demeanor and efficiency. They found her wielding a small knife in an alleyway, and Sasuke remembered the way he had perked up when he saw the girl was about his size too. Juugo had come along with her, also, standing as sturdy as a building in calculating and superior silence. He would hold Itachi's arms behind his back when the twelve year old would enter a rage against their stupidity and childishness. Then they had found Suigetsu with an inappropriate mindset and sleazy speech, beckoning Sasuke to be just as headstrong to find himself in the matte and shiny guns his brother held more cherishingly than him. He had found himself in watching the lakes by their numerous camps freeze and melt, watching wildlife skitter by and shoot them with an arrow to skin and roast them over a fire. He had found pieces of himself hiking deep into the woods, clambering into trees and watching other groups meander by and ransacking them when their backs were turned or their eyes were closed. He would discover himself in the mirrored metal of guns and knives and even in abandoned public restrooms. He would sneak tattered books off the roads for Karin and he and read about the life that once was, what was popular, what wasn't.

But lately, a newer entity, a warm and considerate one, a fighting and stubborn one, had jammed its foot through the crack of a closing door in his mind and a new being squeezed and grunted itself through, muttering profanities and offering comfort at the slightest bit of hurt. It was Naruto. _Naruto. _Who would have and had given him blood when he was in desperate need of it. Who had scrambled to find help for him and who had given him simple advice and comments that both irritated and comforted him. Who would ask him the simplest questions about the life he had forgotten that Sasuke w_anted _to answer and make innocent small talk. Naruto, who was as confusing as a maze but who was as irritatingly simple as the concept of the sun rising in the morning.

The other boy finally loosened his arms and gently let Sasuke free of embrace, noticing the strong ache in his left shoulder and shifted it with his other hand.

Naruto sputtered a bit. "Oh, geez, I wasn't thinking… sorry."

"It's okay," Sasuke murmured, feeling softened by the lingering warmth on his body. The raven flinched when he realized that Naruto had been the only person to hug him besides his parents and Karin. He turned and began walking in a different direction from the camp.

Great, now Naruto felt like he fucked something up within the short hug he had given the raven. Yeah, he had hugged him back, but before that, he had struggled to no end. _But at least he hugged me back, _he comforted himself.

Without thinking, the blond followed the raven into a part of the woods that was hacked down and still had logs randomly spread through its width. He frowned when he didn't recognize this direction to the camp but kept silent as to not upset Sasuke. Kusanagi swung heavily on the boy's slender back and shined even from his distance away. Their footsteps sent loud crunches over dead grass and ice and cracked earth, and frankly disturbing the nature around them.

Naruto blanched when he saw a huge black SUV sloppily parked in the center of this mess and gaped even further when Sasuke brushed a panel on the side of it that sent its trunk door rising to the sky. The boy shuffled to the back and set a foot inside it to roughly lug himself into the spacious trunk. After a few moments he could be heard shuffling around and called Naruto.

Sasuke leaped from the trunk with a red gas tank in his hand and a new shotgun swinging with Kusanagi and shoved it at the blond. "Fill it up," he nodded at the gas latch on the side of the SUV. "It only runs on solar power during the summer."

Naruto silently took the gas tank and stared at the gas latch that was just a few inches under his face. The damn vehicle was _huge_ and looked like it could shred up a mob and come out without a scratch. He gulped and swung open the latch to reveal a gaping fuel tunnel and shoved the tank's snout into it, tilting it back and nearly trembling when the SUV gulped it down loudly.

Sasuke shuffled around and brought their satchel of guns to the front of the trunk, grabbing a few heavy wool blankets and throwing them to the middle row of car seats. He left one on the floor there since he knew Suigetsu would want to nap the whole two-hundred mile drive.

Though his voice was muffled, Sasuke heard Naruto call out "Who the fuck drives this?"

Sasuke smirked and pressed the same panel that swiveled the trunk door closed. "Kakashi's the only one old enough to know how." He chuckled.

Naruto laughed a bit and shook the last of the fuel into the tank, slamming the latch closed and setting the jug down. He turned to Sasuke and leaned against the SUV, huddling into himself and rubbing his hands together. "How'd you get it?"

Sasuke shrugged and leant in front of him as well. "Took it off the hands of a military official last year."

"Eh?" Naruto screeched. "W-"

"He didn't put up a struggle," Sasuke offered and pursed his lips. "They can't track us with it anyway. He was also on the run."

The blond hesitated and gulped. "What now?" He questioned, getting distracted by the puffs of his breath in the air.

"Now," Sasuke asserted and turned to the woods, "we pack camp."

Naruto groaned and stomped over dead grass, knocking low-hanging branches out of the way with some of them snapping.

"Stop making so much fucking noise," Sasuke hissed. "Katons or scouts could be anywhere."

Naruto blanched and spread his arms. "Then why the hell are we out here without weapons?"

"_I_ have a weapon," the raven pointed out and shrugged Kusanagi and the gun higher on his shoulder. Naruto pouted and continued to follow the other boy, this time setting his feet down gently and ducking under branches or delicately moving them away.

Sasuke walked deeper into the ashen woods, frozen leaves shattering under his light steps and stiff branches whispering against his arms. He shied away from one when it particularly brushed over his stitches. He could see the slightly worn path to camp from here, their little fire's embers long spent and various dining utensils spread out. He kicked at the fire's ashes and spread them out, lugging their sitting logs into the woods to erase their history of camping here. He picked up a few plastic spoons and forks and snapped them in half with one hand, then scuffed a hole in the ground to bury them. He cursed when he accidentally shifted his left shoulder a few times and set to pack up their books.

A few feet away, Naruto was crawling inside tents and grabbing sleeping bags and blankets and folding them up. Figures that bastard would give him the worst job. He finished up with the tent he knew as Kakashi's and disassembled it according to the instructions on its plastic side, stuffing it back into its surprisingly small storage box and setting his sleeping bag on top of it.

The next tent was known as Itachi's. The blond hesitated before he opened the flap of the tent, peering in to see an already rolled-up sleeping bag and a knife kit in the center of the tent. He nearly skittered away when he saw that one of them had dried blood on it, but sobered up and folded it back together.

Two tents later and finding a secret stash of really creepy snake skins, he finally cringed and trudged over to the mess that he knew was his and Sasuke's tent. He knew that Sasuke was a fussier type of guy and folded his sleeping bag and blankets back up every morning, but Naruto was the polar opposite. He inched the tent's zipper open to Sasuke's immaculate left side of the tense and the pile of blankets on his side. He groaned and stepped in, kneeling down and beginning to fold what he realized was too much blankets. Once he finished, he took apart the tent and sat on a sleeping bag, burying his face in his hands and rubbing his eyes.

A snort sounded from behind him and Naruto turned to fix his friend with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

"The next time we pack up like this, you have the damn tents," Naruto complained and added under his breath, "cripple."

Sasuke hummed and picked up a few sleeping bags, tucking them under his arm and nodding towards the woods again. "Come on," he goaded. "The sooner we get all of this done, we can leave as soon as the others get back."

Naruto cussed under his breath and hugged as many boxes and sleeping bags as he could to himself and stomped behind the crunch of Sasuke's light steps.

* * *

><p>"What the hell took you guys so long?" Naruto whined. He and Sasuke had finished packing up over an hour ago, making small talk here and there and arguing about how long the others were taking.<p>

"My, my," Kakashi smiled. "We had to look into a few things."

"You mean _Itachi _wanted to look into things and he forced us to stay with him?" Karin growled and kicked the SUV's tire.

"Let's just go," Itachi demanded and climbed into the front passenger seat, slamming the door hard enough to make its glass window wobble.

Kakashi snorted and shrugged his body into the driver's seat, pressing a screen that immediately lit up in green and the engine roared to life, spitting exhaust out its pipes and heating the inside of the vehicle.

The doors of the vehicle opened automatically and Suigetsu hurled himself into the trunk, grabbing the blanket that was there and bundling himself in it. Juugo and Karin humbly got into the back seats and Naruto and Sasuke into the middle seats of the car. They slammed shut and a few strange green symbols ran around on the glass of the windows, the handles lighting up in the same bright green as well as the windshield.

Kakashi skirted out of the cleared space and swerved through the woods, making it to the main road in record time. He recklessly swung onto the road and the tires screeched to a stop when they saw two compact cars and a white SUV that rivalled the size of theirs. The figures standing outside of the leading SUV waved and climbed back into the car, turning back around into the direction of the camp with a funeral line of cars after it.

They had been only driving for five minutes when Kakashi complained about how slow they drove, "Why are they going sixty-five?" he had complained.

"It's a hell of a lot better than the hundred and thirty you go!" Karin waved her fist from the backseat. Juugo nodded his silent agreement. Itachi set a hand on the back of Kakashi's headrest and turned in his seat to glare at all of them.

"How long is the drive?" Naruto pondered and kicked the underside of the driver's seat.

"Well," Kakashi hissed. "It _would _take an hour and a half if we were going over a hundred. Now it's going to take over three damn hours." Sasuke sighed and plastered his cheek against the window.

It had been a grueling hour and a half filled with turning pages, snores from Suigetsu, and growls from Itachi. Sasuke had fallen asleep with a book on his chest and his legs spread out between himself and Naruto, sharing a green wool blanket. Naruto had his chin resting on his hand, watching frozen forests pass by and the sky darken.

Karin was calmly turning the pages of another medical book and Juugo had somehow managed to start knitting what looked like a cloak. Sasuke muttered something in his sleep and roughly kicked Naruto's thigh, hogging the blanket. He whined and tried to tug it back, but Sasuke held it in an iron grip.

Suigetsu suddenly woke up mid snore and shot up from his position, yelling to the front of the car. "Oi, I need to take a piss, stop the car!" He hollered and beat his fist on the back seats.

"_Pee _out the window," Karin hissed and gave him a disgusted look from over the cover of the book.

"Do you think I should just beep?" Kakashi asked Itachi. Itachi nodded and pressed a button on the dashboard that caused most of the SUV to light up in green again and give a high-toned _beep. _

Kakashi slammed his fist on the steering wheel continuously and squealed to a stop, keeping it on there for a good few moments. Once all of the cars in front of them had stopped also, he man climbed out of the SUV and signaled a time out.

The doors to the car opened and Sasuke nearly fell out of the SUV when they did, being jerked awake and catching himself on the door hinge with his right hand. He scowled into the evening and shut the door closed, heading around the other side of the vehicle to see Suigetsu run into the woods. The drivers of the car had stepped out and Kakashi was calling something out about a bathroom break. Some members of the group drifted into the same woods Suigetsu had run into, spreading themselves modestly apart. He sighed and asked Karin how much time had passed.

Naruto blinked the sleep out of his eyes and headed into the woods also, deciding to get pissing out of the way. He strolled about twenty feet into the forest so that the trees offered enough privacy. He heard Suigetsu's sigh some distance away and chuckled to himself, stopping in front of a tree to spread his legs and unzip his pants.

He idly listened to the hiss of his own stream and the alerting volume of Suigetsu's a few trees behind him, trying to focus on the richer quality of this forest and its green moss. The bark of the trees was dark brown and most of their leaves had already fallen in the autumn, and the earth here was moist. Back at their camp was a harsh dry cold, and this way it was a wet cold. A squirrel jumped around in the trees above him and a few birds cawed in the distance. There were more animals, too. The blond tucked himself back into his boxers and leaned against a tree next to the one he had just peed on, waiting for Suigetsu to finish up and head back to the SUV. He raised his eyebrows when he sounded like he wasn't even close to done and waited a few more minutes, growing more awkward when he realized the boy had been pissing for around five minutes and stiffly walked back to the road. He greeted a drowsy looking Sasuke as well as a few of the other members of their new group, making small talk and laughing when Akamaru jumped up to set his huge paws on his chest, yipping and licking his face.

He immediately stopped laughing when Akamaru hunkered down to lift his leg, bare his nuts, and piss on his foot. Sasuke started laughing then.

Naruto screamed and shook his boot that was thankfully waterproof of its urine and glared at Kiba. "What the hell is wrong with your dog!"

Kiba finished snickering and clapped his hands together a few times, grinning and baring his sharp canines. "He loves you like the bitches he finds in the wild," his voice cracked and he started howling in laughter again. Naruto's ears were bright read and he dried his foot in the grass, scowling at the drooling and panting dog.

"It's not funny," he grumbled at Sasuke. The boy only snorted and kicked his other boot, crossing his arms and leaning against the SUV.

A few more minutes passed and Karin's face turned bright red.

"How is this medically possible! _Suigetsu!" _She screamed. Kakashi giggled from beside her and flicked through one of his porn books, eyes scrunching in delight. Sasuke looked a bit disturbed and climbed back into the SUV along with Itachi, settling down and waiting for the white-haired boy to return.

* * *

><p>"Wow," Naruto commented and turned in his seat to stare at Suigetsu. "You sure did piss a lot."<p>

Suigetsu grunted and played with a gooey substance that Naruto didn't want to know was. Karin grumbled something about medical problems and buried her nose back into her book, cursing under her breath and scowling into its pages.

The blond turned back and stared at Kakashi, then Itachi, and then Sasuke. "I'm bored," he complained.

"Deal with it," Sasuke deadpanned and kept his eyes on the scenery passing by. Things around here were definitely greener and richer.

"We'll be there in about thirty minutes," Kakashi bartered with one hand on the wheel and the other holding his bright orange book. Naruto didn't want to start a conversation with Sasuke while Itachi was around to hiss and spit at him. Juugo would look really angry whenever the blond tried to distract him from his knitting and Itachi was a hopeless cause. He fixed his blue eyes out the window and slumped his shoulders.

"Take a nap," Sasuke suggested and nudged him with his socked toe. His boots were resting side by side on the vehicle's carpet floor in between them and the raven had been hogging the middle seat for leg space.

"Well, if you'd give me some space, I would!" He growled and narrowed his eyes at the boy.

Sasuke rolled pitch black eyes and placed his feet on the ground, leaning against the car door and shutting his eyes. Naruto laid down and nudged his head into the raven's thigh. He stretched his legs out as much as he could, which was only a cramped embryo position that made him feel like he was back in the womb.

Sasuke's eyes flickered to Kakashi and Itachi who seemed to be consumed in their own conversation, and he pursed his lips and patted his lap. Naruto peered up at him from his pillow of his hands, sending him a questioning look. The raven patted his lap again, this time more irritably, before Naruto shuffled his blond head onto his lap and stretched his legs out more comfortably. The boy nuzzled his right thigh and immediately conked out.

Sasuke sighed and rested his head against the cold window once again, finding that it relieved his headache and shut his own eyes, drifting off to slumber as well.

Had he kept his eyes open a second longer, he would have witnessed Itachi slowly turning in his seat and staring at them both from the end of his vision.

* * *

><p>They were both started awake when the vehicle jerked to a stop and Kakashi wailed in praise. Itachi all but slammed the door open and storm away into the camp. Sasuke shoved Naruto's head off his lap and exited as well, yawning into the significantly colder night and wincing.<p>

Slowly but efficiently, they unpacked the trunk and headed into the camp. Kakashi followed the rest of the cars to a clearing where they parked and fueled them up.

Jiraiya approached them and grinned. "We have extra tents if you lot need them, or if you have your own you can set up wherever you'd like. Make yourselves at home, grab something to eat, shit, whatever."

Juugo humbly thanked the man and took most of their bulk to their camp, a large green-grassed clearing with a bonfire and heavy logs around it. There was a metal rod with what looked like a bird roasting over the fire, crackling and twitching. There were twelve tents already set up, as well as a poorly placed barrel of guns in the center of the circular formation. _Bandits could waltz right in and ransack us_, Naruto shook his head. Some of those tents were already zipped up and some snores were heard. Sasuke handed him the box of their tent and looked smug at not having to do the work.

"You're lazy," Naruto griped and scowled.

"I'm efficient," Sasuke countered and smirked his part.

"Whatever."

The raven made a humming noise and observed the camp, large and with its perimeter patrolled by the tall boy Neji and a girl with twin buns on her head, looking tough and alert.

Sasuke's eyes continued to glide over the camp, paying particular attention to their oddly placed barrel of guns. Usually their group's guns were stored in Kakashi's or Itachi's tent, safe and inconspicuous. But here, they were left in the open. Like they weren't important enough. To be used nonchalantly by anyone. Like toys. He sneered at the barrel and stared at the girl named Hinata, who was huddled close to the fire. She looked skittish and shy, with her long black hair pleated down her back. Next to her was the Sakura girl who kept glancing at him and skirting her eyes away when he looked back at her. Seated next to Sakura was the boy with a hood over his head and sunglasses, staring numbly into the fire with his knitted fingers hanging between his knees. The boy named Shikamaru had managed to doze off in the space of grass between the log and fire, a hand on his stomach and his eyebrow twitching in his sleep. He could hear the pitch of Karin's voice in the distance as she screamed profanities at Suigetsu, and the counter of Tsunade who told them both to keep it the fuck down.

Sasuke eyed the roasting bird over the fire, but he wasn't hungry at all. He was wary in this new environment, a space too vulnerable for Katons and government spies. The atmosphere was too cozy and-

He caught another glimpse of Neji alertly watching the camp's borders, a bow in his hand and a pack of arrows on his back. He eyed Tenten who had a rifle poised but lowered to the ground, glaring into the dark woods as if daring a Katon to drone into their camp and cock its guns. He glanced at Jiraiya, who seemed to be watching everybody as he poked the coals of the fire.

He realized, just then, that these habits were _normal. _He realized that Itachi had kept them under straining rule and curfew, high strung and sleepy. These people looked well-rested and well-fed. These people looked ready for battle, but at the same time relaxed and ready for conversation. Was this the environment Naruto had been accustomed to? Raised in, even? At ease and pampered?

Said blond groaned as he finished setting up their tent behind him. Sasuke turned around to watch the boy when he unzipped the tent and lugged both of their sleeping bags and blankets in there, stretching like a cat and wincing when he heard some of his bones pop.

Naruto yawned and glanced at his friend, lazily scratching his arm. His eyes focused on the small group huddled in front of the fire behind Sasuke and back to his pale face. He nodded at them and asked, "Do you want a bite?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm going to bed. 'Night." He brushed past him and toed off his boots in front of the tent, stepping in and zipping it shut.

"'Night," Naruto called back and wrapped his arms around himself when a frosty gust of wind hit him. He stamped his feet and headed over to the bonfire, smiling at everyone around it.

"Naruto," a boy with sunglasses that mirrored the fire nodded his head at him and waited for a response. The blond blanched and wondered for a few moments how he should reply when the boy said it for him.

"Shino."

Naruto nodded and tried to keep the awkwardness out of his voice. "Shino."

He greeted Sakura and sat next to the shivering Hinata, watching the boy sleeping on the ground snore and scratch his stomach, rolling closer to the fire and splaying his limbs. His stomach growled loudly and he chuckled nervously when Hinata hid her giggle behind her hand, fixing her pretty opaque eyes on him.

"W-Would you like something to eat?" Her teeth chattered and she held his hand in both of hers, leading him to a large cooler behind a few of the tents. "You always had a big appetite," she whispered. "But it looks like you've lost some weight. You must gain it back to be healthy, ma?"

Naruto felt like a grandson being harassed by his grandmother, telling him that the needed more meat on his bones and to eat their heritage-traditional fatty foods to get it. But he also felt like rubbing his hands together, cackling, and devouring that whole cooler of warm food.

Hinata tugged one of its ends open and produced a plastic container of hearty homemade soup that made his mouth water with just a look. Meat, _meat, _it had real meat in it! There was real vegetables in it too, organic, brewed thickly in beef juice with chunks of potatoes and thick sweet carrots. _Kami-sama! _He felt like raising his arms to the air and bowing down to the ground.

She handed him a plastic spoon and set the container in his hands, shyly smiling at him. "It's g-good to see you again," she whispered and headed back to the bonfire, huddling with Sakura and smiling at something she said.

Naruto wrenched the container lid open and inhaled the soup. There was no chewing and swallowing the creamy broth in between, it just passed right through his stomach and left him warm and drowsy. He smiled up into the stars at night and thanked Kami for his meal, discreetly bowing when he set the container and spoon on top of the cooler. It felt much better than the stale canned soup that Juugo would grimly brew, or bland frozen vegetables they would struggle to heat up and Karin's failed attempts at disinfecting two year old chicken breasts. Yes, Sasuke had mentioned that sometimes he and Itachi would hunt but animals around them were scarce and you were most likely to come across a Katon than a mammal.

He bid the huddlers goodnight and floated back to his tent, glowing in health and creeping into the flap after taking off his boots outside. He struggled to beat his pants off his legs and hopped around in his boxers for a bit before he stuffed himself inside the cold material of his sleeping bag. The blond audibly shuddered and he piled three more blankets on top of himself, turning onto his left side and facing Sasuke about a foot and a half away. He made sure that the boy sleeping on his right side, which he was. In the past nights Naruto knew the raven had a habit of sleeping on his left and staying that way. The boy had made himself a warm cocoon with blankets tucked under his chin and a smug look on his features. Naruto scowled until his shivers stopped and warmth seeped into his bones, curling into a ball and studying Sasuke's face. He still had the same painfully handsome features as when Naruto first saw him, so what was the point of staring?

That was a question that he couldn't answer.

Pale lips mouthed something in their slumber and the raven turned over to his back, then winced and turned back to his side. The corners of Naruto's lips barely quirked up when Sasuke repeated the process a few times, his slumbering mind not understanding why it hurt so much to sleep on his back.

Naruto continued watching the long black eyelashes flutter over pale cheekbones until his own eyes shut and sleep engulfed him.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you guys liked this chapter, but I myself literally fucking hate this chapter so much. It feels like it's dragging along, but I had to put these elements in here so the kind of life these characters are living is emphasized. Oh, well. I feel like you guys review more when I put a cute or a funny. -zips lips- last time I talked about reviews I got 2. ;-; But I promise, I'm literally so proud of the next chap! I know you guys will love it. -le wink- I know I updated pretty fast right after I said I wouldn't, but it seems like this week is literally the week I only have like 2 quizzes to take and a deadline to reach. The next chap is actually already halfway done but I want to leave this up for a while so everybody can read it properly & the reviews accumulate? I don't know. I'm sorry I talk so much. I really have like 7 other things to say but who takes this much time to read an author's note? I know if I personally- okay, that's enough. Bye, I love you guys.


	10. Motor Skills

Chapter 9: Motor Skills

* * *

><p>His eyes pried themselves open and he rolled over, becoming more tangled in blankets and purring into his sleeping bag. Naruto's eyes wondered over to Sasuke, who looked a bit flustered in his sleep and kept mumbling something to himself. The boy scowled in his sleep and cursed.<p>

Naruto relaxed for a few moments, listening to the raven's hushed words and sighs before propping himself up on his elbows and sitting on his knees, letting his blankets fall around his hips and shivering in the cold. He unfolded a knot that had formed in his boxer leg and stood up, shimmied back into his jeans and opened the flap of their tent. He nearly shoved his foot into one of Sasuke's boots before noting that it was black and smaller. He put on his own shoes and meandered over to the alert group that had formed around the fire, laughing and chatting with a few new faces.

Konohamaru was dozing off with his back propped against the log, a forgotten bowl of oats sliding in his lap. The girls of the camp were calmly chatting, probably doing the "girl talk" Karin had wondered aloud sometimes and touching her red hair to exclaim about how long and smooth it was. Karin looked delighted to be in their presence and Naruto felt happy for her that she could have her own little group of friends. Kiba was sleeping on Akamaru's stomach, his feet outstretched to the fire and snoring loudly. Neji stood up to offer him a granola bar and a cup of orange juice that he gladly accepted and sat next to Shino to eat.

"Naruto?" a plump boy with red cheeks and long brown hair barreled over to him to slap his back and knock him to his knees with the force. "'Ya ass! Thought you were done for!"

He choked and glared at the boy. "W-what the hell!" He wheezed and stood up. "Who the f-"

"Chouji," Tenten chided and slipped between the boys. "I guess you haven't talked to Tsunade," she hissed to him and grabbed him by the ear. "Sorry, Naruto, he's got something to do!" She yelled and tugged Chouji to the entrance of the camp.

The blond scratched the back of his head and drained his cup of juice, frowning into the leftover pulp swirling around it. He really wished that he could remember these people, but like Tsunade and Sakura said, apparently he had some memories that he'd probably want to forget. But then again, like Kakashi said, only time would reveal their trustworthiness.

He decided that he was feeling a bit alone and when he turned around to go wake up Sasuke, he bumped into a face with sea green eyes with heavy bags under them. The small boy in front of him had fiery red hair that matched Karin's and a frightening aura that Naruto could practically see curling around him.

"Eh, sorry," he said and stepped away from the boy, heading back towards the tents when iron fingers locked around his wrist and stopped him in his tracks. Naruto slowly turned his head back, becoming slightly scared when he saw that it was the same red-haired boy he had bumped into.

"Uh… yeah?" He tried to shake his wrist free but the boy didn't loosen his grip. Green eyes bored into his own blue and he could feel a cold sweat brim his scalp.

"I said sorry," Naruto said, this time a bit louder and tried to yank his hand away from the boy. "Hey, dude, let me go, I said sorry!" his eyebrows furrowed and this time his voice raised even more.

"Gaara," a hand rested itself on the boy's shoulder and squeezed. "I see you found Naruto already."

Naruto raised startled eyes to Jiraiya and held up his right hand. "He won't let me go!"

Jiraiya's knuckles tightened to the point that it looked painful and Gaara let his wrist go. Naruto yanked his hand to his waist and rubbed it with his other, surprised at how tight the boy's grip had been and glared at him.

"Naruto, I don't blame you," Jiraiya said. "I would be startled if he grabbed me like that, too. Knock it off, boy," he turned to Gaara and wacked him on the back.

"Naruto, Gaara was your best friend during the time that you were here," Jiraiya announced and crossed his arms. "Gaara, play nice. Naruto has lost his memories." The man walked away and Naruto was tempted to hug his leg to bring him back.

Gaara crossed his arms and stared at Naruto some more. Now he was definitely in a cold sweat, he whined to himself and hunched his shoulders. The other boy made no movements whatsoever and stared at him unblinkingly for a few more moments.

Naruto shifted and scratched his arm, looking down at his boot and scuffing the toe into moist grass. Usually, yes, he would be more talkative, but this boy had just started on the wrong foot with him and gave him a funny vibe.

The blond sucked his cheeks in and continued to avert his eyes, digging a small "c" into the ground with his shoe. He praised Kami in his mind when he felt familiar thin fingers wrap around his bicep and looked down at Sasuke, who was looking down at Gaara with a frown.

"What's going on here?" He grumbled. "Naruto, have you-"

"Oh, dear!" Naruto yelled in his stage voice and held a hand up dramatically. "Your iron is low!"

"What? What the fuck-"

"Oh, no, Sasuke! Nooooo!" He droned and dragged the raven by his waist to the bonfire and shoved him onto a vacant log.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Sasuke swiped at his chest. "Whatever it is, knock it the hell off!"

Naruto pictured a fluffy black kitten hissing with its nails out in his mind and barely prevented the corners of his lips from turning up. Sasuke's clothes looked a bit ruffled and he well rested, but no matter how good of a morning it was the boy was _not _one of those people.

The raven stood up and accepted the granola bar handed to him by Karin and pocketed it. "I was going to offer to teach you how to shoot today, but since you just want to mess around-"

"No!" Naruto cried and flailed his arms. "I'll be good, I promise! Teach me how!"

"You're too riled up today-"

Naruto pouted and clamped his hands together. "Please?"

Sasuke glared at him. "I'm not kidding when I say that it's going to be hands-on. We'll be hunting and handling Katons-"

"I know!" Naruto wheezed. "I'll calm down and pay attention, I promise!"

"You _promise?"_ Sasuke eyed him and set his lips in a straight line. "It's not fun and games."

"I get that!" the blond snapped. "I'll take it seriously."

Sasuke was silent for a few moments. "Fine. Meet me by the car and don't tell anyone where you're going, just say you're getting some blankets or something. I'm going to change."

Naruto discreetly pumped his fist in victory and ambled to the entrance of the camp, remembering that Kakashi had gone straight past it and then turned to the right. He kicked at a few stray gravel pebbles and bathed in his own enthusiasm, anticipating what Sasuke was going to teach him how to shoot and whether he'd be good or not. When he saw another clearing to his right he turned into it, bouncing in his steps when he saw the black SUV hidden behind some brush and jogging over to it.

The blond rubbed his hands together and shivered a bit. The temperature was well below freezing, he noticed. Maybe about fifteen or twenty degrees. He absently wondered why animals hadn't been holing up in the ground and flinched when a fleck of icy rain hit his cheek and froze on it. He batted it off and looked at the wet spot on his tan fingers, wondering if Sasuke would cancel their lessons because it had started to rain a bit. His eyes widened when a piece of dandruff landed in his hand. Damn!

He shook his hair wildly and opened his eyes to see a bit more dandruff fly out, staring at the white flecks in horror and turning away from them.

But he was met with more white flecks. Actually, they were falling all around the whole clearing. He gaped at the gentle flurry of white and held his hand out again, a single snowflake landing in his palm and melting before he could inspect it. He caught another and studied its thread-like structure before it melted into another small puddle and was replaced with three more. Naruto looked up into the sky to watch a sphere of sprinkles float down and pelt the ground, sticking to each other and looking soft.

Suddenly Sasuke was in front of him, annoyed and brushing past him to open the trunk of the SUV and clamber into the trunk. He had changed into a pair of well-fitting dark jeans, the blond noted.

"It's snowing!" Naruto cried and poked his friend in the butt, his hand being slapped away to continue rummaging.

"I see that," Sasuke grunted and tossed him two duffel bags, one black and one made of burlap. He crawled out of the trunk to bring a plastic storage box with him that appeared to be full of blankets. "I'll give you one of Itachi's old coats," he said and nodded at the blond to open the container. He hesitated and lifted the lid off of it, Sasuke's hand immediately diving into it and producing a dark brown bomber coat with tan wool lining it. The raven shoved it into his chest and pushed the container back into the SUV, shutting the trunk door and picking up the burlap duffel bag on the ground. He nodded at the other one and slipped Kusanagi into the duffel bag.

Naruto shrugged the coat on that fit a bit too big and picked up the black duffel bag, nearly doubling over with its weight and wheezing.

"Do you have a body in here?" he grunted and carried it like a baby, grimacing at Sasuke.

"No, they're guns," he sniffed and turned to the thick woods away from the camp. "We have a long way to go so they won't hear the shots. Come on."

"How much?" Naruto tripped over a thick root hidden under a bush and cursed.

"Hn," Sasuke shook his hair of snow and scrunched his nose. "I'd say five miles minimum. Sound travels faster in cold air and the ground here is flat, so even then they'd probably have a good chance of hearing us. But, we don't want to travel too far out in case we get lost."

"Aw," Naruto squished his foot on a lush mushroom and paled when it emitted a rancid smell.

"Don't do that," Sasuke reprimanded and held his hand over his nose. "Damn."

The blond snickered a bit and rubbed his sole off on the bark of a tree. "Hey, Sasuke, how do you know what you know?"

"How do I know what I know." Sasuke repeated and tilted his head to the side, letting Naruto catch up to him to stroll by his side.

"Yeah," Naruto said and held his hands in the air. "Like what you just said, about sound travelling. And what you've told me about animals and what people used to be into."

Sasuke hummed and stepped over a tree root. "Books. Picked them up from the side of the road, snuck into bookstores when I told Itachi that I was just checking out a dead Katon or something. People had a lot of magazines, too, which just had things like recipes and furniture in them. House furniture, what people decorated their houses with."

Naruto made a small "o" with his mouth and nodded. "What did guys like us like? Were they perverts like Kakashi?"

The raven frowned. "Well, the only thing I could find was that they liked girls. And sports, they weren't too shallow."

"Wow," Naruto whispered. "That sounds kind of boring. I like being out here. And frogs. Frogs are cool. And talking to you," he confided and smiled softly.

Sasuke felt his ears turn hot at that last comment. "I like nature, too, and snakes and cats. And, um, I like talking to you, too."

The blond smiled broadly at him and chattered again. Sasuke's neck didn't stop getting hotter and hotter once he saw his straight teeth and his cheeks heated up, but he hoped Naruto dismissed it as a flush of the cold. He cursed himself and willed the damn blush to go down, but it persistently stayed as it was and only his ears cooled down at the gravelly quality of Naruto's voice.

One of the few times he had blushed like this was when he accidentally walked in on Karin changing her shirt in the woods when they were fourteen, braless and screeching when she saw him. It wasn't much of a sight to see, but nonetheless it proved the female anatomy he had studied in a science part of a bookstore. The other time was when Itachi had wandered into his area of the woods when he had been taking care of _private _business over a year ago. The only other time was when they were twelve and he and Suigetsu were the only ones left in an old swimming pool's showers and the boy had told him about boners and getting rid of them on his own through the curtain of his shower, then had gotten it up just when Sasuke was becoming annoyed and slammed the curtain open. Sasuke had run away like the place was going to explode and complained to Itachi and Kakashi about the vulgarity. Kakashi had just laughed and patted his shoulder, a strange gleam in his eye and Itachi had taken pity on him and given him "the talk." Frankly, it was a memory he didn't like resurfacing and one that made his face feel like it was on fire.

"Hey," Naruto called and frowned down at him. "Are you okay? You're all red…"

"I'm fine," he managed and nearly choked at a horrible continuation of the memory when Karin had told him and Juugo about female functions. The tall boy had thrown up on Kakashi's leg and Karin had only sniggered and made fun of them for being so skittish.

Naruto made a worried sound and paused in his steps before a massive tree trunk that was at least a good five feet tall, scratching the back of his neck and looking a bit uncomfortable as well. "Are you… constipated or something? 'Cause if you need any privacy or something, I can-"

"No," Sasuke deadpanned and rolled his eyes heavily. "I was just… remembering things that I'd rather not. Ever."

"Oh," Naruto dragged out and grinned. "Well, are you 'gonna spill?"

"No," Sasuke repeated and scowled. "I just said I don't-"

"Please?" the blond whined and gave him a pleading look. "You're the only one that talks to me around here, the others treat me like I'm-"

"Oh, stop with the guilt trip. Fine," he grumbled and stared at the tree trunk in front of them. Naruto swung a leg over the trunk and hoisted himself over it, grunting when he landed and setting his elbow on the top of it. He held out a hand to Sasuke and he grabbed it with his own clammy one, digging his foot into the bark of the trunk and leaping over it. Naruto supported his weight when he landed and they continued walking, the forest becoming thicker in growth and lusher.

"Well, I was thinking about several things, but…" Sasuke started, and then relayed the memory of Karin first, Naruto grimacing the whole story through.

"I kind of figured that when she sent me out for her stuff," he scrunched his nose.

"Yeah, yeah, I was there."

"Don't get so smart. What else were you thinking about?"

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled. He was about to open his mouth to tell him about Itachi walking in on him relieving stress, but decided to keep that story to himself and told the one about Suigetsu.

That ended up with Naruto throwing his head back in laughter and stamping his feet, catching snowflakes in his mouth and gasping for air. He doubled over and clutched his stomach, cackling and struggling for breath.

"Shut up," Sasuke said and tucked some of his bangs behind his ear. "I was only twelve, I literally almost died of embarrassment."

Naruto stood up and let out a soft wail, rubbing a single tear from his left eye and catching his breath.

Sasuke sniggered a bit despite himself and realized the hilarity of his prudishness during his preteen years. He laughed at himself along with Naruto's rebirthed chuckles when he remembered Itachi's deadpan face during the whole lecture.

He smiled softly when Naruto's shoulders gently shook with suppressed laughter, stepping over a peculiar large rock.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes until Naruto almost looked nostalgic for memories that wouldn't resurface. "Hm," he murmured and studied the moss handing over their heads. "Um, speaking of that, have you ever… you know…"

Genuinely forgetting their previous banter, Sasuke said, "What?"

"Had sex."

The raven was a bit taken back but he answered honestly nonetheless. "No… there was never any time for those kinds of things, and never any space."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "I'd like to think that I haven't done it either. I don't… expect it from myself?"

Sasuke nodded and slung the burlap bag higher on his shoulder. "I-"

A rustle far in the thick growth in front of them froze the two in their tracks. A section of bushes about sixty feet in front of them rustled violently again and Sasuke shoved Naruto down onto the ground, spluttering and flailing his limbs. He clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth and tried to tell him to shut the fuck up in a single glare.

Sasuke reached behind him and into the lip of the burlap duffel, extracting a lightweight bow and a metal arrow. He elbowed the blond in his side and shoved the items into his arms.

"Hands-on lesson," he murmured and eyed the chubby brown rabbit. "Bow and arrow edition."

"What?" Naruto half-whispered, half-yelled. The rabbit's head shot up and it perked its floppy ears, munching on a berry and twitching its nose. It hopped over to a different bush and yanked a full branch off of it with its teeth, chewing the leaves with nearly one go.

"Hold the bow up with your left hand," he whispered. Naruto glared at him, but he did as he was told.

"The gap at the end of the arrow is where you fix it on the string…" he continued and glanced at the boy to make sure he was paying attention. The blond fastened his arrow on the bow and his fingers naturally fell into place around it, and he drew the string back. "Which eye do I use to aim?"

Sasuke frowned and racked his brain for which side was Naruto's dominant. He recalled the blonde fiddling with things with a specific hand and whispered, "Right. Shoot."

"Aw, but I don't want to kill it! It didn't do anything!"

"It's for food. There'll be millions of others of those things to replace one."

Naruto sighed, fixed his aim, strengthened his grip and let the string loose. As soon as his fingers weren't touching the wire anymore he closed his eyes but he could still hear a tiny whimper and a few sniffles from the rabbit.

The raven stood up and jogged to where he had seen the arrow land, grunting in victory when he saw its limp body perfectly speared with half an arrow. He picked up the clean part of the arrow and motioned Naruto over. The boy looked all but miserable when he saw the bunny dead on a stick but he accepted it to trade Sasuke for the burlap sack. The boy set the sack on the ground and pierced the arrow through it, rummaging through the bag before he clamped a round rubber tip on the arrowhead and handing it to Naruto.

"I'll carry the guns now," he offered and held out his hand.

"Good," the blond grumbled and hunched over when he took the sturdy bag of artillery off his shoulder. "They weigh almost as much as you."

Sasuke pursed his lips and slung the – _not heavy at all_ – bag over his shoulder and shifted Kusanagi. "We'll keep on for a few more minutes, and right now I'll show you how to work a shotgun. Then we'll find a buck or a Katon and shoot it."

Naruto felt the bead of nervous sweat run down his neck and freeze. There was a paper thin blanket of snow on the ground now, soft and sparkling in his steps. The sky was ashen with stories of volumes that opened to let a thick flurry through. He hiked along with Sasuke, branches snagging at the sleeves of his new coat and shifting his ankles over marled roots. He dimly heard the clinks and grinds of metal guns against each other, the rich patter of ammo in its box.

They trekked farther into the thinning green growth of the forest for some long moments. A strong gust of wind rushed past them and brought a heavy glob of snow in its wake. Although Naruto was warm in his newfound coat and Sasuke's cheeks were flushed with heat, a different kind of chill poisoned his veins and infected his bones. It was like a realization of something dawning over him, but he didn't know what. It turned his blood cold and made his limbs stiff, his shoulders tense and his stomach flutter.

Sasuke held his arm out to stop the blond and shrugged the gun bag onto the ground, landing with a heavy thump and hollow clanks. He unzipped it to reveal a multitude of lacquered and matte black and silver guns, hand-sized and some nearly as long as his leg.

"Okay," Sasuke mumbled to himself and rummaged around the bag, tossing a heavy red box towards Naruto and yanking out a long, matte black gun with some sort of grip on its nose and a long magazine.

"Shotgun," the raven pointed towards the gun and raised an eyebrow. "Pump shotgun, to be exact," he set the nose on the ground and moved the grip down, flicking a safety button off hiding under it. "You would use your other hand to do this," the boy abruptly shoved the gun into the air and quickly jolted it down, the pump loudly clicking into place and making a ringing metallic sound. "When it goes up, it's pulling a round to get ready to shoot, when it goes down…" Naruto nodded to Sasuke's instruction and fumbled a bit when the other boy lifted the gun his uninjured shoulder and held it straight out. "Aim with your right eye. And I mean it when I say tense up, these have a lot of recoil."

The shotgun was pushed into Naruto's arms and he fiddled with it for a moment, intimidated of the obviously military-exclusive weapon. "Keep your eyes open for anything and you'll have target practice on that anything."

His bottom lip quivered at the thought of shooting another animal down. If it was rabid and doing something bad, like, a raccoon nosing through their food, then yeah, he'd be okay to shoot it for being a pest. But if it was just hopping around in its habitat like the bunny on his back and munching on growth, then he'd rather just leave it in peace. The blond contemplated closing his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see any approaching animals. He actually did and set his mouth in a line, following the crunches of Sasuke's feet and swallowing roughly.

They continued on like that for a good five minutes before he heard the raven let loose an exasperated sigh. "If you really don't want to shoot any animals, we can turn left into the town and look for Katons. It doesn't matter either way because they're both productive."

Naruto pursed his lips and gave Sasuke a sheepish look. The other boy's face was neutral and he looked somewhere around being bored.

"We don't have to…" he said, maybe a bit quicker than he would have preferred. He rubbed the rubber padding of the shotgun against his shoulder. They honestly didn't need to go that far out of the woods just because Naruto didn't want to shoot a few damn bunnies or deer. He could deal with it, honestly. Especially with Sasuke's injury, he didn't want to put any more strain on the boy than there already was.

The raven stared at him for a bit and strolled to the right. "There's enough snow for a bit of tracks, but you have to look closely."

And they walked. How long, Naruto didn't know, but he was alerted when Sasuke practically pounced on him and hushed him from his upcoming protests. The boy pointed at a small family of reindeer, whose father looked especially intimidating with humongous horns and visible, rippling beef under his hide. His children grazed with still-shaky knees and made strange clicking sounds with their throats. The mother's character, the blond fantasized, would be the kind of caring stay-at-home mom but at times could turn into a vicious demon. She certainly looked it.

Sasuke nudged him and nodded to the gun, quickly turning back to observe the family with hawk eyes. The two baby reindeer were already jittery enough and if Naruto didn't take a shot soon, then they would see the pair.

He made slow, quiet movements. The gun was light and already loaded. He pressed the butt against his shoulder and remembered that Sasuke had said to tense up seriously. He did just that and aimed at the father's stomach with his finger that was cuddled into the ironically small trigger of the gun.

Even with his heavier body weight and tensed position, when he pulled the trigger he jerked back slightly and winced when metal dug into the meat of his shoulder painfully. The bullet grazed the father's back and rung volumes into the atmosphere, rippling through miles and trapping the terrified ears of his children and their mother.

The buck didn't move. His family was a blur in the forest though, ruffling plants and upchucking dirt and leaves and snow. A drop of blood slipped down its brown hide and he turned his head ever so slowly to stare at Naruto and Sasuke.

For a few moments, they stared at each other. Naruto didn't know what was going on. Sasuke tensed up and tried to foresee if the buck was going to run away, or…

The buck didn't run away. It did something similar, though. It stood up on its hind legs, nearly seven feet now, swung its monstrous, branchy horns in the air and waved its front hooves in a declaration of war. A high, loud keening call escaped his throat and he thundered to all fours and dug them into the dirt.

"Oh, _shit," _Sasuke hissed and grabbed the blond's arm. "Run!"

He screeched when the boy nearly tore off his arm and earned a screech back from the buck just a few feet behind him. "Oh my-"

"_Run!" _Sasuke yelled this time and sprinted ahead of him, darting under branches and maneuvering around rocks and leaping over snarled roots. Naruto grimaced and followed in his lead, arching his back when he heard skittering hooves and deep pounds in the dirt behind him as well as heavy, misty breathing.

And damn, Sasuke was a fast runner. He was sure the boy ran in his free time. The raven was at least five feet in front of him and looked like he was restraining himself.

"Why did we do that!" He yelled and picked up his pace, not daring to glance behind him and be met with plant root horns and spitting nose.

"_We?" _Sasuke questioned and waved his arm in the air. "You're the one that shot! You should have aimed better!"

"It was my first time!" Naruto argued. Now they were sprinting side by side and the reindeer made another whiny sound deep in its throat. "The real question is, _why is it chasing us_?"

"You pissed it off!"

"It's not my fault! Maybe he's just a pissy reindeer. Are you a pissy r-"

"Don't talk to it," Sasuke growled, contemplated punching Naruto in the face to leave him behind and glanced behind them. "Shit. He won't be slowing down for a while."

"What the fuck!" he yelled and pumped his feet faster, almost tripping over a rock. "Shouldn't we distract it?"

"Just wait for him to bleed out, it won't take that much longer-"

The buck whined in protest to that statement and pounded his hooves more heavily into the ground, albeit slower than they were before.

"Kami!"

"Naruto," Sasuke groused and scrunched his fine eyebrows together. "If this is how it ends for both of us, and we get speared on his horns… I just wanted you to know…"

His own eyebrows untangled as he awaited those words from the raven. Would it be some of their friendship? Or thanks for his heroic acts, or his awesome personality? Or when he stood up for him against Itachi? And distracted him from Kakashi's scarring perverted remarks? And kicked Suigetsu out of the showers when he-

"That this is _your entire fault." _

"Eh?! It's not my fault! I swear it's not!"

Sasuke didn't reply and he winced when he felt the cold against his straight teeth and numb his cheeks. Snow was falling into his eyes and melting on the areas of his skin that his clothes didn't cover. His breaths were becoming increasingly heavier and his throat felt like broken glass, but on the positive side his shoulder was throbbing from his running and shifting. Great. He hoped the damn reindeer tripped over a root and broke its damn legs.

And they were already halfway back to the camp. The buck obviously wasn't giving up his chase, and Sasuke glanced back to see a generous amount of blood pouring over its sides and matting its hide. Once he got a closer look, he discovered that the buck was meaty, but it was mangy and had various bugs crawling in its fur. He sneered and turned around to let Naruto lead their party.

"There's a big branch up there," the blond panted. "I'll hold it up for you, and then you duck under it so that he gets stunned. I'll count to three."

"Okay," he breathed. "Keep running after that, too. He might chase us again."

Naruto seemed to ignore him in favor of yelling, "One."

Their feet pounded against the ground and their exhausting breaths mingled with those of a frustrated reindeer.

"Two."

The reindeer keened again and its hooves sounded like they were making foot-deep craters in the earth. Sasuke's lungs were numb, but at the same time they felt like they had been lit on fire.

"Three."

He ducked, squatting and nearly tripping his own feet when the frozen ground in front of him focused for the first time in a while. Sasuke heard a screech and a thump before recollecting himself and following Naruto through the dense woods.

They ran for a few more minutes until their steps retreated to a jog, then a prance, and finally they were walking. Naruto fell to his knees and rolled over to his back, wheezing and closing his eyes. The raven set his right hand against the rough bark of a tree and set his forehead against it, panting and trying to will the throbbing in his shoulder to stop.

Sasuke's throat burned as he dragged oxygen through it, telling himself to breathe slower and to calm down. His brother had put through his head that everything that was remotely risky was a close call to death. He stuffed his face in his sweater and tried to get some feeling into it. His lips were surely blue and the fact that the wind had picked up against them didn't help.

He hugged his arm closer to himself as his heartbeat settled to a heavy throb in his throat and ears. He tried to think of something else rather than how his whole body hurt, and that it was too cold. The raven focused on Naruto's slowing breaths and hoped that the idiot wasn't falling asleep or something like that.

Sasuke slowly turned and leant on the tree, letting his head fall back and sliding down the trunk. Naruto had his forearm over his face and a hand on his stomach, with his chest rising at a normal pace.

"Ready?" the raven grumbled.

"Yeah," Naruto replied and rolled to his stomach, lifting himself up and standing shakily. Sasuke used his cramping thighs to stand up and shuffle towards the blond, raking a hand through his hair to dislodge some flakes of snow.

"Let's head back."

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><p>AN: Such a busy week! I tried to get this up as fast as possible for you guys, but the work is raining down hard on me as it seems my teachers have conspired against us. I kind of split this chapter in half, just to give you guys something to read, I guess? This chapter was pretty fluffy, but I toned down the sweet with that wild reindeer. :p Did you guys like this chapter, like Sasuke and Naruto bonding a bit? I've gotta go, but if you guys have any questions, drop onein the reviews or in the tumblr I linked in my bio! I've only made a few posts and it's kind of a mix of random things, but I'll try to center it around the Naruto fandoms' posts and my own updated. See ya next week!


	11. Disrupted Formation

Chapter 10: Disrupted Formation

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><p>Something in the back of his slumbering mind snapped its fingers and pulled on a thin thread. It yanked at his consciousness and pulled him into the recesses of his mind, filled with few memories and most of the few being Sasuke. Naruto was standing in a completely white, endless room with a standard window allowing a view of black in front of him.<p>

He blinked heavily and glanced around him, surrounded by different volumes and colors of smoky and solid white to eggshell and cream white. He glanced down at his tanned hands. They looked the same size as they were when he was awake, with long fingers and wide palms and nubby nails. Then he bent over looked down at his bare feet, his left big toe with a scar that looked like a walking person. His eyes traveled higher over his calves and knees with the fuzzy blond hairs on them, gradually turning to a dark blond as he reached his upper thighs and – oh shit, he was naked. How had he not noticed that before?

He stood straight up and looked around, making sure that he was alone and setting his hands on his hips. What was he doing here? And why the hell was he naked?

Suddenly, the window in front of him jerked and he nearly screamed when he saw his own reflection in it. No, it wasn't a reflection, it was actually _himself. _Another completely solid copy on the other side of the glass, in the same nudity but with scarlet irises.

It dully stared at him, appearing apathetic but contradicting itself when its knuckled turned white on the latch of the windowsill. The window shook again and expanded like rubber, like a rock had been thrown at it but the glass didn't crack, only morphed around a sphere and reverted back to its original shape. It shuddered under another invisible pressure and screeched when the biceps of his copy rippled underneath his skin and pressed harder on the sill, keeping the window from coming out. A few more dings and scratches echoed from the glass of the window, some of them gentle and some harsh. The other Naruto blinked slowly and the pangs and squeals behind the glass only got louder and more frequent. The glass was morphing around invisible objects, some obviously rocks and some too intricate to identify. It flared his nostrils and a loud _bam! _engulfed the area around him and another face was pressed against the window. Naruto scrambled to cover his own nudity, but-

It was Gaara. He was clothed, but in a sand-colored tank top and military pants. He shoved against the other Naruto, but he didn't budge, only put more of his weight on the opening of the window and kept it shut. Gaara shouted something at the copy, so infuriated that his eyes squinted and his neck flushed red. The redhead shoved at its stomach, punched at its arms and face, even attempted to strangle him but the other Naruto stood his ground and didn't flinch a single time. Gaara turned to the real him, pointed, and yelled something violently at him that he couldn't hear. Glass morphed around him like raindrops falling sideways and he only turned redder and redder, a vein popping out in his forehead and matching his sea green eyes. He was shoved to the side and sobbing Sakura pressed her face into the glass beside him, also pushing at the copy and yelling what he could read as obscenities and trying to elbow her way to the other side. Both her and Gaara were banging on the window, but it only allowed the deep thumps of their effort. Sakura shook her first at him, appearing to take a violent approach at first but leaning against the window to beg him for something that he couldn't hear. A girl with long, black hair and slanted eyes materialized behind the three and stood calmly. She only smiled at him and moved to the side when Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared, looking grim and concerned. They mouthed something to him that he couldn't read and gestured gently, Tsunade widening her arms and slowly wording, _open. _

Naruto's eyes widened when long knives were thrown at the glass, as well as bullet rounds and some kind of gold material. The copy's jaw clenched and a sheen of sweat had formed on his face, shaking his head _no, no, no_ and panting through its gritted teeth. Neji appeared behind Tsunade and shoved her out of the way to punch the window's glass and yell something at the Naruto on his side. Neji's forehead filled with bright blue veins and he obviously cursed the copy out, trying to elbow him out of the way and failing. He only clenched his eyes shut and kept shaking his head _no_, visibly groaning and settling more of his weight on the window opening. Neji clawed at his wrists and the copy spat in his face.

Something different began behind the window. Before it was desperate, now it was… violent. Person after person appeared, Kiba, Chouji, Ino, men and boys he didn't recognize, but never Sasuke or Kakashi or anyone of his recent group. All of the figures were shouting at the Naruto of their side, scratching his back and smacking his face when a fine tear of pain ran down his cheek. They were trying to yank him away from the window, shove him into it, _anything _to get them through. But he only shook his head and silently shouted _No! No! No! _as his face turned purple and the veins in his arms jutted out and his torso muscles clenched painfully.

And finally, finally, something came through the window. It was the copy's gravelly voice, his own, in despair.

"Don't remember!" he screamed and opened watery red eyes, piercing him with his gaze and holding him in place. "No! You don't want to! Fight it!"

In the background of his words, screams could be heard from the others. Sakura was screaming and clawing at the rubber window, trying to kick and punch her way through it but to no avail. It was a painful sight, and even more so because he didn't even understand what was going on.

"_Naruto!" _ she sobbed, raw and wretched.

"Stop it!" his copy yelled and let out a short, painful scream that made his Adam's apple protrude dangerously and bob. "Don't! Get out!" His face was dark red and there were fresh, hot tears rolling down his cheeks, hitting his arms and pooling around his slipping fingers, "Leave, dammit! Don't think about it! Naruto, _go!"_

It was then that Gaara reached his hand through a pane of the glass, morphing around his wrist and his forearm. Everything behind the redhead went silent and everybody behind it stood still as the copy of him slumped against the window. His bicep fit through the pane, as well as his shoulder. He held his hand out to Naruto, pained and pleading. He clawed his hand and stretched the glass around his fingers, clenching again so that it thinned around his nails. He fisted his fingers three more times before the glass seemed to melt around the protruding nail of his index finger. Gaara pointed the small amount of his free finger at the blond, nostrils flared and growled one word:

_Remember._

* * *

><p>Naruto shot up in his sleeping bag, nearly falling to the side because it was still zipped. His hands frantically searched for the zipper and almost ripped it off when he found it, throwing it off of him and kneeling.<p>

His head was aching and spinning and the backs of his gums were tense like he was going to throw up. He did feel nauseated, but set his sweaty forehead on the tent floor and wheezed his breaths in. The blond only slept in his boxers and a long sleeved shirt, and that he peeled up to his shoulders to cool his heated flesh in the cold winter night air. It was obviously the time of night where everybody was in the middle of their sleep. He waited for his head to stop spiraling and his limbs to stop cramping, concentrating on breathing. The blond's sweat had dried on his back and neck, and his breathing was normal now, though he sighed weakly.

Naruto pushed himself up on shaky hands and wavered in his standing position. His limbs were shaking and his side of the tent was a mess with tangled blankets and his sleeping bag thrown to the side. Sasuke was sleeping peacefully on his back, face illuminated by dim moonlight, whispering something in his sleep. He stared at the raven for a bit, watched how his chest rose gently and slowly under his blankets and how he would subtly shift every few moments.

He managed to reach his sleeping bag and lay it out right next to Sasuke. Naruto dragged his four heavy blankets beside it and shimmied into the bag, shrugging the blankets on top of himself and turning on his left side to face Sasuke. The blond put the crown of his head against the boy's shoulder and gripped his blankets closer to him, watching the shadows of his fingers against his hip and biting his lip.

He spent the rest of the night listening to the sound of Sasuke's gentle intakes of air and sighs when he let them go.

* * *

><p>When Sasuke's eyelids inched open, they were assaulted with warm sunlight. He shut them closed again and wished for another gloomy day so that his irises wouldn't ache. The tent was warm, nearly overbearingly so. He shifted away from the ray of sunlight that had decided to shine in his face and shoved a blanket over his head.<p>

Pale eyelids slid shut again and attempted to surrender to dreams, but something nudged him in the arm and stayed there. Sasuke dismissed it as Naruto's foot in one of his weird sleeping positions and scooted father away from him, wishing he could sleep on his left side and sighing heavily. He wondered how his bones were doing.

Naruto's foot nudged him again and seemed to rub his shoulder. Sasuke growled and ripped the blanket off of his face, sitting up and bracing to snap the other boy's ankle. He was surprised when he was greeted with a head of mussed blond hair and tired cobalt eyes buried into his side. He still had that habit of sleeping in his boxers, Sasuke noted, and a shirt that he had never seen before.

"Hi."

The raven studied Naruto's face and tightened his lips. "What are you doing?"

Naruto rolled onto his stomach and looked to the corner of the tent, smashing his cheek against the ground and shrugging. "Couldn't sleep."

Sasuke felt the warmth of Naruto leave him and noticed that the tent wasn't warm, just the blond. He was still numbly staring at a stray sock hidden in one of the tent's corners and had delicate bags under his eyes. Maybe he had a nightmare, or even Itachi had given him a scare?

Sasuke lowered himself back onto the ground and faced Naruto, relaxing into his plush blankets. "What's with you?"

"Nothing," the blond replied, perhaps a bit too quickly and harshly. "I just… got cold."

"Got cold," Sasuke deadpanned and gave him a tired glare. "You were head-butting me so hard that it scooted me over because you _got cold_."

Blue eyes traveled over to him and pale eyebrows lifted. "Yes?"

This time, Sasuke didn't say anything. He just narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips into a glare and waited for the other boy to crack under the pressure and spill every single thing that had bothered him, like he usually did. Naruto was an open book, and if he refused to open, he read most of his pages within a few seconds of a glare that Sasuke wondered if he was just planning what to say the whole time.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut and inched his way closer to Sasuke again, slamming his head into his side again and grumbling, "I had a nightmare."

"You want me to be momma bear?" Sasuke mocked and harshly tugged at a blond lock.

"Don't make fun of me, dammit!" Naruto said, muffled into his side and slightly tickling him when his voice rose and vibrations could be felt. "It was scary."

The raven hummed and let his heavy eyelids shut, sighing and resting his hand atop the blond head. "What was it?" he murmured.

Naruto played with the loose ends of his cotton sleep shirt as he retold his dream, whispering the whole way through and appreciating it when Sasuke's nails would gently dig into his skull.

"Why did it scare you?" he questioned.

"Because," he started and slightly fumbled with his words, "I told me not to remember."

"I like your English," Sasuke chuckled and raked his fingers through golden tendrils.

Naruto allowed the corners of his lips to quirk up.

"But, I think you're supposed to listen to your dreams, or take them seriously, or something like that," the raven groused and rubbed his eyes. "Can we go back to sleep?"

"Am I not supposed to remember?" Naruto wondered aloud and poked his friend in the side to keep him awake.

"I would say no," Sasuke replied and turned to face him. "Everything behind that window looked pretty painful, hm?"

"Yeah."

"Can we go to sleep _now? _I'll gladly strangle you so that you can sleep, if you want me to. Correction. If _I _want to."

Naruto snickered into Sasuke's stomach. "I didn't ask for this sass, Sasuke. Where is this coming from?"

"Sleep deprivation."

"But wait, I wanted to talk_-_"

"Oh, Kami," Sasuke groaned and turned his head. "All you _do _is talk."

"Hey! At least that's not the only thing I can do!" Naruto yelled and propped himself up on his elbows.

"You-"

"_Shut the fuck up!"_ Kiba slurred from the tent beside them, followed by a drowsy bark from Akamaru. "It's too damn early for this, get your panties outta that twist!"

The raven sighed into his pillow and wished to roll on his stomach. "Go to sleep, Naruto."

Said boy sighed. "Will you share a blanket with me?"

"No," Sasuke snorted and leaned on his elbow. "I told you I wasn't playing-"

Naruto shoved his blankets off of him so that he was only in his unzipped sleeping bag, sweatpants, and sweater. Sasuke was just about to gripe at him before a new set of thicker blankets were wrapped around him and the blond nudged his head under his arm.

They were both silent for a few moments. It wasn't that bad, Sasuke considered, roasting in the warmth and discreetly curling closer to the other boy. But something else caught his attention.

"This isn't 'sharing a blanket'," he grumbled. "This is sharing blanket_s_."

"Was that a snake?" the blond deadpanned. "I heard a hiss."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shifted his cramped legs. He always got damned body cramps in his sleep, he thought, and gritted his teeth at a rather nasty one currently in his calves.

"Just shut up and sleep," he grumbled, rested his head to the left and stretched out his legs. Naruto was heavenly warm and his eyelids felt like they weighed tons in his presence.

"I think you need it almost more than I do," the blond whispered, right by his ear.

As another couple of hours passed by, Naruto memorized how pale fingers would clench and grab during sleep, cold feet strongly kicked at his legs every once in a while, pale lips would part and move. There were many failed attempts to roll onto a left side and after those would be heavy sighs and frustrated rolling, hogging of blankets and unaware punches thrown if he tried to get them back. There was even a point where Sasuke had sat straight up, gazed at him through half lidded irises, and then flop back down to curl closer to him. The sneaky bastard (sneaky _sleeping _bastard, he thought) would pretend to shift in his sleep and somehow icy cold heels would be pressed under his shirt. At one point he gave up trying to get rid of them and let the raven leech at his body heat.

A different kind of dim light filled the tent, the silvery winter sun. It had to be nearing noon now, and Sasuke was still breathing as deeply as he had been all night and sighing just as heavily. He knew the boy had a bit of things to do, or not, and if he didn't do them his brother would, without complaint.

Naruto poked his friend's belly. A dark eyebrow only twitched.

"Sasuke," he whispered and set his hand on a pale forehead. His eyelids stopped in their fluttering and both brows twitched, tried to shrug his hand off. The raven yanked his head away from his hand and hogged the blankets once again, nuzzling into his pillow and wincing.

"Wha'?" he groused and kept his eyes shut.

"Wake up," Naruto bit his lip to hold back a snicker.

"No," he moaned and scooted away from the blond, hid his face in a blanket and tried to go back to sleep.

"It's almost noon."

"I don't care. Let me sleep."

"But you've slept for too long! It's had to be, like, over twelve hours now!"

"_Naruto!_" a female voice screamed from their "living room" in the camp. He frowned and turned to the voice, then looked back at Sasuke.

"If you don't leave, I'm going to snap your neck."

Naruto timidly shrugged his legs into his jeans and tiptoed out of their tent, setting his finger in front of the zipper as he closed it so that it wouldn't make noise. He struggled to gather his boots in the disarrayed order they were in from the hurried and exhausted manner he and Sasuke had come home in. Jiraiya had cackled away when Naruto explained what had happened with the buck and Kakashi had cuddled the rabbit and praised him. The others seemed to be lazing around at that time, with an empty plate on their laps and their heads lolling and eyes drooping. Naruto had yet to see the boy named Shikamaru actually awake, only having seen him on cloud nine by the fire, on cloud nine by the tents, on cloud nine leaning against a tree… Kami.

Karin beckoned him over with a granola bar wrapper by her side and leaning against Juugo. Sakura stopped chattering at her when she caught sight of him and gave him a small smile.

"Good morning, ladies!" He stretched his arms behind his head and grinned. "What brings to call me on this fine d-"

The blond was cut off when he received a sharp smack to the back of his skull and cradled it in his hands. "What the-"

"Knock it off, Naruto," Sakura scolded and set her small hands on her hips. "I grew up with you, you fucking idiot."

"Hey! Why is everybody-"

"Is Sasuke still sleeping?" Karin interrupted and scrunched her nose.

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto crossed his arms. "I tried to wake him up, but he doesn't want to! It's been half a day-"

"Good. Let him. He always needs to sleep in like that whenever he gets injured," she informed and poked him in the chest, giving him a stink eye. "You leave him be. You two follow each other around like lost puppies, but Sasuke needs to heal and you're only slowing him down if you pester him."

Part of Karin's lecture had stung and he only pursed his lips in offense. Bummer that Sasuke would sleep most of the day. Actually, kind of upsetting that he wouldn't have his smart friend around to poke conversations with and ask questions. "You didn't need to be so snippy," he grumbled.

"You've always been a big baby," Sakura teased and squeezed his bicep. "Always eating nearly half of the camp's reserves."

He frowned down at her. Was it Blame Everything on Naruto and Make Fun of Him While You're At It Day? He had thought it was just Sasuke being dramatic and Karin being a girl! Now he just felt like sitting in silence with Juugo for the rest of the day.

Now a small congregation had formed around him, chattering and flipping their hair. The girls! He had gotten stuck in the middle and they were all poking at his body and commenting on how he had slimmed out, complimenting how good-looking he had come to be and prodding him with a few questions here and there. The blond glanced over to the group parallel to them, consisting of most of the younger guys, minus Shikamaru and Gaara. Even Itachi had managed to inch his way near them, turning through a book and constantly brushing his shoulder-length hair out of his face. Kiba pointed to him and snickered to Chouji, who in turn nudged Konohamaru and soon created a whole group of chortling guys making kissy faces and pretending to flip their hair.

Naruto cringed and awkwardly gaped when Ino asked a rather personal question about Sasuke. That triggered a whole new string of questions being fired at him, centered on his aloof friend.

"What's Sasuke's favorite color?" Sakura screeched.

Naruto grinned and yelled back, "Pink!"

Tenten scolded him for lying and rolled her eyes when he tried to convince her that he wasn't.

"Sasuke seems like the sensitive brooding type," Sakura analyzed. "It sounds pretty true to me."

"Just tell us the _good _stuff," Ino scoffed and held a hand in the air dramatically. "Just tell us how big his-"

"_Kami, _Ino! Have you ever heard of boundaries?!" Tenten cried.

"Shut up! I was going to say feet! _Feet!"_ she screeched and flushed red.

"I'm _so_ sure," Sakura rolled her eyes and shifted her weight to one foot. "You already know what they say. Shoe size equals-"

"That's a lie!"

"If you must know," Naruto pretended to cough into his hand to hide a smile. "His shoe size is five and a half!" He kept his face straight but his shoulders shook in betrayal.

"What?!"

"Are you serious?"

"No! He's lying! He hasn't changed at all. Look at him, with that stupid grin he always has when he-"

"My, my, what is going on over here?" Kakashi crept over them like a scarecrow and smiled. "Sasu's shoe size? If you're in dismay… you must know that it's a fourteen."

"What the hell is this? All you men tell is _lies!_"

Naruto was full out laughing now, clutching his stomach and throwing his head back. He earned a few (rather harsh, damn, did Sakura work out?) punches to his chest and arms for it. Kakashi chuckled beside him and rubbed his head as the blond winced and rubbed at his sore spots.

"I'm asking you to be honest, Naruto," Sakura growled. "What's his actual shoe size?"

Karin pushed herself into their little circle and set her hand on her propped hip. "He's an eight," she announced.

"That's so cute!" Sakura giggled. "What are his-"

Naruto took advantage of the girls' distraction to slide out of their circle and tiptoe over to the guys, grinning when he succeeded. Kiba grinned crookedly and nodded his head back, "Gettin' pampered by the girls, eh?"

"No," the blond scoffed and rolled his eyes, started a bit when Lee jogged by and created a ruckus in the woods. He plopped down next to Konohamaru and rested his arms on the log he was leaning on, stretching his neck and legs.

"Naruto," Konohamaru timidly started. "Do you remember who we all are?"

The question took him by shock and he felt slightly guilty to think about it. Sure, he could name the members of this camp with a bit of difficulty. He struggled to remember the plump boy's name sitting across from him, and the dude with the sunglasses next to him. He had only remembered Shikamaru's name when he had tried to make Sasuke laugh and had ended up laughing at his own joke. "_Sleep-amaru!" _he had whispered, then started cackling to himself when the raven only narrowed his dark eyes at the blond. In Naruto's defense, it had been pretty damn late and he was tired. That was his excuse for his cracky jokes.

But, answering it was a bit more awkward. What should he call them, his friends, or his comrades? He had only recovered a vague memory of a much younger Kiba and Gaara, someone who looked like Sasuke and a vivid one of Sakura. It was difficult to rekindle relationships with people you had apparently already had one with.

"Uh," the blond swallowed. "You're my old comrades?"

Silence. Everyone in the pit stared blankly at him, some sympathetic, and some angry, like Neji. Even Itachi had looked up from his beat up collection of written plays and raised an eyebrow. Shit, wrong thing to say, should have said _friends_. Why did he have to add "old"? His palms broke out in a sweat and his brow furrowed. Kami! He really was fucking things up around here.

"I'm sorry," he tried to clean up the mess he had made, but he didn't know how to use words correctly. Naruto played with his fingers in his lap and discreetly wiggled his toes, the back of his neck burning.

"It's okay, Naruto," Shino broke the awkward silence. "We don't blame you."

"Actually," Neji stood with a wide stance and let his defined and handsome features align into a sneer. "I do. I don't believe a single word that comes out of your mouth, Naruto," his voice rose steadily. "or any of the other's mouths from that group of Kakashi's. They're untrustworthy and you're corrupted, Naruto, whether you know it or not. That makes all of you untrustworthy."

Naruto's jaw worked and he openly gaped at the brunet, standing tall and _stuck up_ before a bunch of crumpled food wrappers. "_Woah_, what the hell is your problem? We haven't even done anything that's 'untrustworthy'," he imitated Neji.

"It's in your best interest to keep your ignorant mouth _shut,_" Itachi had thrown his book off to the side and risen to his full height, standing nose-to-nose with Neji, just taller than him by a mere centimeter or two. "None of us need a vagrant around here. A child, to be exact."

"It's in your best interest to remember that you're a guest here," Neji spat and locked his pale eyes with the dark ones of the Uchiha. "As well as the rest of your group."

Itachi didn't reply, but he didn't falter from his stance. In a way, Neji was almost like a mirror of him had he not asked Sasuke to cut his hair, their color schemes switched a bit.

"Neji," a smaller voice too delicate to be one of their gender, "please stop."

Said boy's eyes widened and he turned to look down at Hinata. His cousin looked ashamed and maybe even disappointed in him, clasping her hands together and pursing her lips.

"Please apologize, Neji," she whispered to him and tucked a long lock of black hair behind her ear. "You're talking to Naruto the way you're talking to Itachi-san."

The brunet's strong jaw clenched and he remained silent, locking his gaze with his cousin's and fisting his hands. She waited patiently for him to apologize. When Neji held his ground, she shut her eyes and meekly turned her back to him, shaking her head as she walked to greet her friends. Hinata was just about to breach hearing distance.

"My apologies," he deadpanned and stared straight at Naruto with icy gray irises. "To any member of your group I may have offended."

_Neji's a douche_, Naruto thought to himself and pursed his lips. Maybe he really should have slept in with Sasuke this morning. He would have avoided a shitload of drama. Actually, he just might sneak back into the tent and catnap like his friend. Naruto needed rest, too!

The brunet stalked away and Itachi tilted his head to the side. From a side angle, Naruto could easily mistake the man for Sasuke, had they been the same size and had the same hair length. The only differences in their looks were, of course, Itachi having slightly darker skin and lighter hair.

An awkward silence hung over their group and Akamaru barked some distance away. The girl's chatter created a soft hum in the background and Konohamaru coughed lightly, slowly rising and trudging into the woods. Kiba made an excuse about having to talk to Tsunade about something, Shino and Chouji following him when the boy walked away. Now the blond stood awkwardly with Itachi, who was still staring in the direction that Neji had stormed off into.

"You," Itachi said, tilting his head down when he addressed Naruto and shuffled in closer to him. "Watch my little brother when I am not around. A few members of this group are suspicious…"

Naruto waited for the man to finish, but he never did. "Well, okay," he replied. "Who's fishy?"

"That doesn't matter right now. What only matters is that their hunter is returning tonight, someone who can easily be a spy," Itachi spat. "He's gone for periods of time that he can use to travel to a Sector and relay our whereabouts."

"Well," Naruto raised his eyebrows and squared his shoulders. "I will."

The man only narrowed his eyes at the blond and walked away.

* * *

><p>That night, the whole group minus Jiraiya huddled around the fire to share dinner. It was the first time Naruto had seen Shikamaru awake, and the boy looked exhausted despite how much he already slept. His head lolled over his plate every once in a while, but then he shook himself awake and lazily chewed on rice.<p>

Sasuke had resurrected from his death-like sleep, cranky and hungry. He got bombarded with questions from Sakura as he chewed on a piece of chicken, glaring into the fire and ignoring every single one.

"Sasuke, can you hear me?" she asked him and moved her hand dangerously close to his thigh over the grass. Sakura had a friendly smile on her face, clean and with her hair brushed straight down her jaw.

"No," he deadpanned and shoved a spoonful of stale rice into his mouth.

Naruto pursed his lips when he overheard this, sneaking a few pieces of chicken off of the raven's plate when he looked away. He had his body turned to his friend, shielding himself from the burning rays of Gaara's stare. What the hell was that guy's problem? Naruto understood that they had been close during their time as a group, but that wasn't a reason to stare at him whenever he possibly could. He should have taken an approach like Sakura, awkwardly rekindling a relationship they already had.

The blond watched Chouji wolf down a frightening amount of chicken and Akamaru steal some pieces from everybody's plate. Ino screamed when the dog swallowed her paper plate whole.

Naruto slumped over his plate and played with a few pieces of artificial carrot. He felt like, in this camp, it was too crowded, and unorganized unlike Kakashi's group. Their small group had been cozy and in order, supervised and close-knit. This group was loud, prone to internal arguments with pricks like Neji and vulnerable with their large number.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Jiraiya whooped from the entrance of the camp and dragged forward a small figure, a wide variety of animals in his wake. Naruto couldn't see the man's face from where he was sitting. The majority of the group yelled and huddled around him, thanking and congratulating him for his hunts and catches and audibly clapping him on the back. The voice it belonged to murmured something and the group around him roared in laughter.

"Man, is that part of a cow?" Kiba wheezed and eyed a lump that Naruto could only see part of. "Haven't had a burger since I was a kid! Where the hell have you _been,_ dude? You got the mother load!"

"Thank you," the deep voice replied and some of the group moved away to allow the blond a partial view. "I found them on the outskirts of Two and Three."

Since it had turned into a casual conversation with Kiba, people returned to their food and rejoiced the new meat. Naruto took in what he could see behind the bright glare of circular glasses. Ratty gray hair in a short ponytail, small in build…

"You're saving our asses out here, Kabuto," Kiba clapped the man on the back and grinned crookedly. "Don't know what we'd do without ya."

When Kabuto turned to lock gazes with Naruto, his blood turned to ice.

The glare wiped itself from his glasses and he stared into the empty onyx eyes behind them. The man made something in his gut itch and the fact that he had a generous assortment of knives on his back didn't help one bit. Kabuto smirked lightly and tilted his head back, giving the blond a view of his grimy and blood-crusted neck.

"Naruto," he drawled. "Fancy having you back."

He swallowed dryly when the man let his eyes inch over Sasuke and Juugo, Karin and Suigetsu, Kakashi and then Itachi. The men locked eyes dangerously and a different kind of tension stretched over their gathering.

"Hello," he droned and slung his pack of knives to the ground. "I am Kabuto, this group's hunter."

Sasuke ignored the man in favor of paying attention to his rice. Suigetsu hollered out his own and Juugo's introduction, chugging his large water bottle and belching. Kakashi politely shook his hand and complimented his gathering skills.

Kabuto smirked again and rested his gaze on the empty one of Itachi's. "I believe," he started and sat in front of the crackling fire. "That we were in the same rank at military ed, back in One."

Sasuke stopped chewing to focus on eavesdropping into the conversation, finally hearing something from Itachi's own childhood besides what he vaguely disclosed.

"I don't recall," Itachi droned and set his elbows on his knees, letting his silky hair fall from behind his shoulders. "Must have been in a different class."

"We were both in class A, Itachi Uchiha," Kabuto set his fist under his chin and smirked. "Defied the rule of short hair, number one in our rank… and certainly one for the ladies." He chuckled.

Sasuke raised his brows and set his fork on his plate, letting Naruto continue taking pieces off the plate that he pretended to not notice. He wasn't very hungry in the first place. When he was little, he thought that military ed had allowed Itachi's long hair. It felt odd to know that Itachi hadn't obeyed, and their parents had let him. It wasn't surprising to know that Itachi had been first in their rank, though, but being a "ladies man" was. Sasuke couldn't even imagine a twelve year old Itachi flirting with his female classmates and reciprocating flirtatious actions. Itachi really had changed a lot, he thought.

Itachi snorted and didn't move. "I don't recall that either."

"It's hard not to recall the famous Uchiha brothers, six and eleven," Kabuto nodded to Sasuke and barely smiled. "Always hearing about their success… it was tiring. Shame such a large family had to be exterminated."

Maybe, in another situation, what Kabuto said might have been considered as dry humor. But the way the man said it made goose bumps run down the back of Sasuke's neck. Maybe, had the man cut out their ages and observations of Itachi and the jab at their family, it wouldn't have been creepy. Maybe, if Kabuto wasn't looking at Itachi like a scientist at a virus through a microscope, Sasuke wouldn't have felt in danger.

But Itachi said nothing. He stared past Kabuto into the woods behind them and stayed silent, the fire flickering and pronouncing the bags under his eyes. Kabuto's face grew from a small smirk into a smile, hidden from the rest of the group who couldn't even tell that anything was askew.

"Nice talk," Kabuto mocked and stood. The man kicked a pebble that landed at his brother's feet and slowly turned to join the rest of the group.

* * *

><p>AN: -growls heartily- The Walking Dead comes back tonight. I am ready.

On a normal note, I hope you all liked this chap. Ended with kind of a cliffie. Remember, if you have anything to ask me or want to be my first follower, check out my tumblr in my bio!


	12. Restoring Force

Chapter 11: Restoring Force

* * *

><p>Itachi glared at the back of the other man's heels for a few moments before he rested his eyes on his own hands clasped between his legs.<p>

The hunter only stayed for a few days to every few months he was gaming, bringing home enough meat to last them while he was gone. Itachi looked forward to the day that he was leaving.

_Kabuto Yakushi, _he remembered, indeed in the same rank as he had been in military ed. Kabuto had been third in their rank, miniscule to Itachi's first. It was optional to start military school at age eight, or go to medical or tracking school, all clustered in one area. Indeed, he did remember the days when he was given the responsibility to pick up his little brother from the daycare across the street at a certain strict time and bring him back to school to grab his backpack.

Indeed, the few females in his ranking had taken an automatic liking to Sasuke who had been three at the time, pinching his cheeks and tickling his small stomach. He allowed the crinkling of his eyes when he remembered Sasuke's chubby cheeks and wide eyes and constant giggles. Itachi hadn't known that he was being "flirtatious" with the girls. He had just thought that answering their persistent questions about himself and offering them tutoring had been polite and normal. Itachi had, rather ignorantly, dismissed their hits as compliments towards the stiff gray military uniform. At the time, he had honestly thought that those girls appreciated how it fit him and _fit well around his muscles,_ they said.

It was only a curse that Sasuke had proven his prestige at age six to be placed in the first year of training. That first year, only terms and a few melee weapons were introduced, but mostly it was about self-reliance and control, resourcefulness and cognitive skills. That same year was when their family had been _expelled _from One.

Itachi had done the things he had for a reason. Who knew how long this expulsion, alienation was going to last. Who knew how long this war between the Sectors would last, and how many more people they were to eliminate. How many people they were going to replace for the ones they lost. The only thing they knew of were rumors. Like how abandoned military bases were inhabited by peaceful protestors, and how Four was accepting outsiders. Bullshit. This was why he needed to teach Sasuke how to be independent. They lived in an unreliable world, in the streets, off of game and old, processed food. Sasuke needed to know that he couldn't ever be spoiled. Sasuke needed to depend on himself.

But his little brother never learned. He had constantly leaned on Itachi ever since it was just then. It went from crying into his dirty shirt at seven, to being physically weak at nine and complaining about being dizzy all the time, not tall enough at ten and eleven, emotionally weak at twelve, and reclusive at thirteen. Sasuke had obviously created his own mellow personality at some point or another, but there was no need for one.

Itachi was pleased with how he turned out, though. Resourceful and quick-thinking, responsible and rational. Though he wished his brother could have inherited their ancestors' height like himself, it was just something that had to be accepted.

So that's why, Itachi thought as he stared into the dark in his tent, maybe he should be proud of his little brother. Maybe it was time to let him loose from his leash. Not exactly like that, Itachi scrunched his nose and turned to his side. But allow the boy more freedom. It wasn't like it mattered, anyway, since Sasuke had already gone against his orders and made nice with the blond boy. His name escaped Itachi at the moment. Was it Nagato? No, someone just yelled his name from the bonfire. Naruto. He had trusted Naruto, who was irritatingly always with Sasuke. Trusted him to keep an eye on his little brother and a closer one on the darker personalities at this camp.

Which is how, Itachi thought as he rested on his side and surrendered to slumber, he would keep an eye on both of them.

* * *

><p>Sasuke's eyebrow twitched when Karin roughly threaded out another stitch from his shoulder, the long and knotted thread of it visible from where his head was positioned.<p>

It was a disturbing feeling, actually. Skin shouldn't be tugged in these ways, and certainly not handled the way Karin was handling it currently.

"Just a few more," she grumbled and tried to pick them out quickly. "Your bone and your skin _have_ been healing fast with that serum. I think you'll be done with that sling in two or three days." Karin patted at his malleable and thin collarbone. She rolled his shoulder a few times for him and Sasuke winced when she turned it up and to the right.

Karin patted him down with -surprise, more alcohol- gauzed and slung him up and shoved him away to talk to her friends. The raven squinted at the small amount of sunlight surrounding their camp and making crystals of snow glisten. It had only fallen an inch or two, and some of it was already suspiciously yellow and covered in footprints. He groggily kicked a chunk of the stuff away from him and headed to take a peaceful, solitary walk in the woods.

Mostly, he was taking a walk to get away from the overwhelming stench of blood at the camp, just circling around. Kabuto had hunted a pile of animals nearly tall as him and left them to freeze overnight. Disgusting. Their blood and various fluids had pooled around them like putrid broth and stained the snow brown and scarlet. Chouji had begun skinning them and laying out their hides like a carpet and setting their feathers on fire, chewing on certain raw intestines and offering some to Sasuke. Sasuke, as well as most of the girls, hadn't appreciated this one bit and stalked off into different directions of their large camp. Naruto had gone a bit green and said he was going to take a powernap, trudging to their tent and audibly cussing.

Lee suddenly sprinted through his worn path in the woods a few feet in front of Sasuke, barely stopping for a few seconds to yell "Good day, great Sasuke!" before zipping by again in a cloud of snow. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and smashed a clump of snow under his boot, thinking of the things he could do before tensing his neck straight and clenching his jaw as something came to him.

He glanced back to where Lee had his retreating back turned towards Sasuke. The raven glanced back towards to tents of the camp, gun barrel unguarded and its contents shining in the dim sunlight. It seemed that everyone was either asleep or in the front of the camp, and the only way he could get out of here was to maneuver around Lee and make sure that he didn't wake Naruto up.

Sasuke casually strolled back into the boundaries of the camp, stuffing his hand inside his jean pocket and pretending to observe some melting snow. Lee was sprinting so that he could see Sasuke now, making loud crunches when his feet landed and grumbling something about success under his breath. Sasuke bent over and picked up a stray stick, tossing it into the woods and crouching behind his own tent. Naruto's light snoring could be heard through the canvas of the tent.

Sasuke waited a few more moments until Lee was rounding the corner of the camp and turned a few times until he was pressed against the left side of their tent, away from Lee. He tucked his legs as close to him as he could and hoped that Lee wouldn't notice him.

Lee bound by their tent, not looking back. Sasuke jogged to the gun barrel and slipped out a shotgun, unhooking a hand pistol from its edge and ran back into the woods with a triumphant smirk on his face. He jumped into bushes and dirt as often as he could so that his footsteps wouldn't be visible. Sasuke turned his body and tried to make his landings as quiet as possible, sometimes forced to take an extended step to reach the next green spot.

He continued like this for hours. Sasuke didn't stop until he noticed the curtain of branches that didn't allow snow in and offered green land to walk on. Even then, he traveled on top of the roots that protruded from the ground and on top of large, mossy rocks.

He didn't stop until his instincts told him to turn left. There. The same spot he and Naruto had ran by when they had been chased. Sasuke's eyes had been glued to this particular spot, a strong pull in his gut telling him to enter the slope of the parted trees and slide down to what was below.

Sasuke glanced through the circular opening of the two trees and studied the gentle slope that went about thirty five feet downwards, covered in leaves and interrupted by thick roots. Perfect. The raven clutched his shotgun to his chest and sat in between the trees, placing his feet against the closest thick root. He scooted down so that his bottom rested against the root and placed his feet against the closest root again, slowly but efficiently tracking down the slightly frozen nature.

When Sasuke jumped onto pavement, he wondered if Tsunade's group inhabiting an area so close to former civilization was on purpose, or if it was another something they chose to keep from Kakashi. He faced an eight-lane road with skyscrapers visible in the distance, obviously partially destroyed and hanging lopsidedly. The road here was covered in glass. Sasuke hitched the shotgun back over his shoulder and glanced both ways of the road, checking for Katons and jogging to the other side. There was no avoiding the loud crunches of glass under his feet.

Sasuke constantly checked if he was being tracked by Katons or soldiers. He also occasionally glanced up into the sky to see if any government drones were flying by. Really, he knew that going out like this was dangerous, but he just needed to know a few things.

He used his right arm to support himself over the bent barriers of the road, awkwardly landing and smacking his other shoulder with the gun. Sasuke winced and looked at the plaza before him, once with clean marble walkways and a lively fountain in the center. Now there were occasional ribcages decorating areas where there used to be flowers.

Sasuke glanced left to a rusty sign pointing out the subway and restaurants, some of the letters clotted over with dried blood. He turned right to a sign pointing to the city center, shops, and the community library. That was what he was looking for. But being in the center of the city, a higher amount of Katons or scouts were obviously going to be slugging around. He would have to be careful.

Slowly, he walked away from the dry fountain that he avoided looking into. A gruesome aroma was still wafting from it. Sasuke kept his eyes alert and a hand on his handgun, and then started to jog towards a crumbled pillar arch. The marble floor was slippery and he slid a foot or two when he glanced out of the arch.

The small roads were clear. There were tall buildings, rotten and chipped, crammed together and leading to a large white building with many columns and a black iron fence that was beaten down in some areas. Next to it was a slightly smaller building that looked like it was purely made of marble with hundreds of steps to its entrance, titled _North Konoha Reference Center. _On its roof was a tall column supporting a broken old-fashioned clock with Roman numerals rusting behind shattered glass. It had stopped ticking at six twelve.

Sasuke inched through the roads, peeking through the small gaps of buildings for Katons and squatting in silence to listen for them. Downtown was eerily quiet. He definitely should have seen at least the remains of the robots by now, but he didn't pay any mind to it. Sasuke wasn't being hindered. He jogged in the center of the street now, shotgun thumping heavily on his back and a hand on the gun in his belt loop. This was his first time in the open, _free. _Someone must have cleared out Katons and their spare parts.

Sasuke loosened his grip on his handgun. If he let go, he would take longer to reach it should he run into a scout or robot. If he let go and ran into one, reaching for it might be the fraction of the second it would take for him to die. The raven swallowed heavily and let his grip on the cold metal spasm. Then, he unclenched his fingers so that they weren't clutching the gun. Sasuke's hand hovered over the gun now, and he clenched his fist once again and lifted it to move his bangs out of his face. _Free_.

Itachi wasn't around to hover over him anymore, and Kakashi wasn't here to fill in the spaces of time that Itachi left for a while.

Sasuke sprinted through the streets now, his right arm swinging in a fist by his side. The pavement here was clean, no longer stained sanguine, and the gravel under his boots didn't fly away to reveal remnants of bones. The wind burned his face but the library was right in front of him now, getting closer and closer to those stairs that looked over one hundred.

He slowed to a jog when he reached the first step, breathing heavily but not panting. Sasuke turned and slowly studied his surroundings. There still weren't any Katons or scouts, and the sky was cleared of Katons' drone partners. Before Sasuke could dwell on it any further, he traveled up the first step, then the next ten, then the next twenty. They really were pure marble, he thought, still polished-looking but undeniably worn and burned in some places. His feet rapidly danced over steps, sometimes taking two at a time due to his anticipation of the smell of stale pages.

Sasuke glanced up at the fifty or so steps left, now taking them all two at a time. His shoulder stung when it shifted every few moments, but he didn't pay much mind to the pain. There was a short walkway near the top of the stairs, about five feet long. He skidded over it and rushed up the steps again, grand glass doors surrounded by columns much more visible now. There were a few photos of past historical figures on either side of the doors.

Sasuke reached the top of the stairs and panted, glaring at the foggy glass doors in front of him. He pulled the pistol out of his belt loop now, cautiously inching towards the doors and knocking on them. Their glass was thick, soundproof. Typical for a library. Sasuke eased the gun between his thumb and forefinger and set his hand on the handle of the door, wincing when it loudly creaked as he pulled it open. He jammed his boot through, pressed his back against the opposite door, and waited for the soft hums and mechanical whirs.

There were none.

Sasuke awkwardly shifted his feet so that his right shoulder would be entering the library first. He poked his head through the small space he opened, met with a very dim lighting. Sasuke pushed the door open the rest of the way to let some light in and nearly gasped at the rows upon _rows_ of books, spiraling and leading to a second, third and fourth floor. Inside was one hundred percent silent. It was clear. He let the door shut to a small crack and kicked the stopper so that he had enough light to find the power source. Luckily, a candelabra meant for décor rested overturned to his right. Sasuke picked it up by its golden handle and glanced around the area that was visible for matches. He sighed when he realized that there probably weren't any and hung his arm, letting the candelabra slide down his palm.

Sasuke rummaged through the box under a table by the door, random pages with underlined sentences and dog ears filling most of it. Knick knacks and souvenirs were in it also, but no matches. He kicked the box to the side and opened the box next to it, finding hope when there were things like batteries and flare guns in it. Sasuke scrunched his nose and threw a cigarette butt to the side. He snorted when he hound a lighter with barely enough juice to flick on two or three times.

He set the candelabra on the golden table, fumbling with the lighter until he managed to open it. The raven held it steadily above a black wick, flicking it ablaze and snorting when the wick caught fire and burned boldly. He gingerly removed the single candle from its holder and lit its neighbor candles, brightly illuminating his surroundings.

Sasuke observed the grand circular room before him, marble floors and bookshelves, murals on the monstrous ceiling with an intricate golden chandelier swinging unlatched on its side. Diamonds lay spread out on the chipped floors from where they had fallen from the appendage. A long row of desks and computers lined the entrance wall, where books were checked out and in. A design too large to identify was carved into the ivory floor and slightly crumbled as Sasuke strolled across it.

He swallowed heavily. Would the books he was looking for be in reference? Sasuke had yet to come across a genre guide where they would usually be posted on the length of shelves. His heart rate picked up as he got deeper into the library, clutching the gold in his hand a bit tighter with each step that echoed throughout the building. Why was he even bothering coming here? It would have been safer to stay at-

No. He couldn't be chickening out now. Sasuke had come this far, and wouldn't face himself if he turned back. To be strong is to admit weaknesses, he thought, something Itachi had always said growing up. It was okay to ask for help, when he needed it. He glanced to the opposing side of shelves, sighing in frustration when there were no guides posted on them, either. No guide was an excuse to turn back. He couldn't stay here for hours looking for a genre just because he couldn't fucking—

A long white canvas lay upside down under his foot, skidded a few inches from where he had stepped on it. Sasuke bent over to pick it up, turning it around so that it faced him.

_History & Geography….K180_

He sighed and skid his eyes down the list, thinking about what it would go under.

_Philosophy & Psychology…..K351_

Sasuke guessed what he was looking for would be under this genre. He eyed the letters and numbers atop the shelves, turning on his heels to walk back where he had started. Sasuke entered a wide row and held up his light to scan the titles of books and author names. He squinted at books about self-image and books titled things like _Getting to_ _Know Yourself: The Do's and Don'ts_ and _Girls and How to Handle Them. _

Sasuke walked a few more paces until he came to the shelf he was looking for. Without realizing, he glanced around himself even though he knew that there was no one to witness. He pulled out a few books in general and dropped them to the floor. He ran a hand through his hair and sat down with one leg out and the other by his chest. The raven picked up a novel and swallowed loudly when he ran a finger over its index.

He would try his best to turn pages with one hand for the next few hours.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat alone in front of the bonfire, hands clenched between his knees and lips straight. The small amount of sunlight that the thick clouds had allowed was setting, turning his surroundings pink.<p>

Maybe it had been a mistake. An ember strayed from its coals and landed on his boot. He didn't bat it away.

A few hours ago, he had been casually chatting with Sakura in the spot where he was currently sitting. She had asked him a question that he hadn't been able to answer.

"What was it like, having Jiraiya train you? We never saw you, but you always ate most of our food and slept until midday."

Then he had paused, his mouth slightly open. He shut his mouth and stared at the pink-haired girl, who had covered her mouth with her hand.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, it s-"

"Will you tell me?" Naruto whispered. "About my past? You know it, don't you?"

Sakura sighed and rested her head in her hands, clenching her fingers in her hair. She rubbed her face with one hand and stared at the ground. "Naruto, I'm not sure that you want to know. You're so happy like this-"

"I'll ask Tsunade, then," the blond snapped and rose from the log. Sakura grabbed his wrist and tugged him back down with another heavy sigh, patting the back of his hand.

"Don't start a bunch of drama," she said weakly. "Settle down. I'll tell you what I think you should know."

Naruto blanched. "What _you _think _I _should know? Sakura, this is _my _past. I deserve to know everything that's about myself."

Ah, something he had picked up from Itachi, Sakura thought. Naruto would have never said a thing like that to anyone, but he had always had the fire inside him to. She guessed the time at Kakashi's camp had ignited it.

"Alright. Are you sure? One hundred percent, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and stared at the dirt under his boots. It was about time he knew. He needed to know about his friends, past, and most importantly, himself. It was ridiculous not knowing trivial things about himself, like his shoe size or his eye color, and it was embarrassing when someone asked him something that he should've known. He was ready.

Sakura sighed, chuckled, and shook her head. "You've always been this persistent."

* * *

><p>Naruto was born under the parents of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.<p>

Minato had been the only five-star general of the Konoha military, the right hand man to Danzo Shimura. His wife of five years stayed at home. Kushina had been a lawyer for only a few months before she retired to devote her time to her husband.

Naruto had been born healthy, kicking, and screaming, puffy-faced and red-skinned. He had been born in Konoha's military hospital, delivered by Tsunade Senju and Orochimaru Sannin, who had been in the sector as a guest for communications.

He vividly remembered being cocooned in his mother's scarlet hair, from birth to age four. She had been the sweetest woman he'd ever known. Minato didn't return home until the latest hours of the night, so Kushina made sure that Naruto's hyperactive mind was busy. The mother and son had been remarkably close. She had fed him until his cheeks and fingers were chubby and spoiled him rotten.

When Minato would come home near midnight, Naruto would get so riled up that his father had to take him for a run to get the boy to sleep again. Even though Minato couldn't be around his son that often, he made sure that when he was there, it counted and it was as memorable as moments could be.

They lived a short life together. By the time it had come to reap he Sectors of their overpopulation, Danzo decided to appoint himself with an unbiased military.

Danzo disguised his thoughts with a regular chair meeting, wives invited.

That night, Minato and Kushina left Naruto with a younger Jiraiya who read a porn magazine all night. They kissed him on his small forehead and waved when he pouted and smashed his face against their large windows. His parents promised the blond that they would be back within a few hours, and promised to let him stay up so he could play with them. Naruto watched them climb in their blue car and back out of their driveway, turning the street with their headlights diminishing. The sound of crunching gravel and the hum of the car's motor still echoed in his head.

They never returned.

Naruto sat, cold and curled up by the door in his froggy pajamas, waiting until it was well past midnight. Jiraiya had tried to convince him to go to bed, but the four year old didn't have any of it. Naruto had dragged his fox blanket to the front door and bundled in it until Jiraiya had picked him up and thrown Naruto into his bed. The little boy didn't pay much attention to this, cuddling with his blankets and falling asleep for an hour or so.

Naruto now remembered that he had dreamed of a demon towering over Konoha's sector, picking citizens out with its claws and throwing them behind itself to be smashed with its nine tails. Naruto screamed when he saw its deformed claws pierce his mother and father, squeezing them in his palm. When the demon opened its paw, all that was left was a shower of blood coming down from it, and strands of long red hair. He had woken up crying and stuffed himself into the corner his bed was pressed against, curling into the tightest ball he could muster and shivering. Jiraiya heard him sobbing a few minutes later, struggling to unlock the door from the outside.

"Naruto? Are you okay?"

The four year old ignored him in favor of wiping his snot on his pajama sleeve and choking on some of his tears. "A-aya!"

"Naruto, open this door right-" Jiraiya yelped and a heavy thud was heard from the outside, as well as a sliding against the wall. Multiple pairs of footsteps were muffled through his bedroom door. There was more sliding, as well as a few slurs and murmurs. Naruto had stopped crying to listen in, the tears slowing down and replaced with silent hiccups. Everything had gone silent in the house.

The front door's lock jiggled violently enough for Naruto to sit up straight. The door thumped. Its lock jiggled more loudly now, audibly crumbling and cracking under somebody's pressure. The door thumped loudly again, the small white blinds on it cracking against their window and shuddering. Something hit the door hard enough for the window to shatter, and this time a metal clang was heard. The doorknob had been kicked out and what Naruto had heard was it rolling to the side. The front door was kicked down and a multitude of booted steps showered in his house, spreading through the rooms like ants to leftovers. Their wooden doors were kicked open and their kitchen drawers yanked out of their sockets and rummaged through, their TV and appliances ripped from the walls in electrical baths of sparks. They were thrown to various parts of the house and kicked around. Naruto hid under his blankets again, quivering wide-eyed and panting under his covers. What should he do?

What _could_ he do?

The nausea grew in Naruto's stomach each time a door was kicked down, one by one, closer to his room. There were no voices that yelled out to each other. There were just heavy, angry footsteps and grunts.

Naruto's blood turned cold when the door of his parent's room, next to his, was kicked down. He could hear the intruders rummaging around in there and a few strange ripping noises. The intruders stayed in there for longer than any of the other rooms, quiet enough for Naruto to think that they had left. He sat up and shakily removed the blanket off his head, setting his toes on the cold wooden floor and shuffling to the middle of his room. Naruto glanced out his window to see hundreds of black figures darting in and out of the neighbors' home. Was this happening to his dad's friends too? It was a neighborhood exclusively for high military officials.

He froze when a single pair of footsteps transcended directly outside of his door. Naruto's eyes widened as much as they possibly could when he saw two shadows, shoes, and parallel to each other under the crack of his door. Every single thought he had was telling his small body to move, _leave, _and he would be safe.

But there was nowhere to run.

This was Naruto's own home.

Who runs away from home?

Naruto's bowels clenched when the doorknob turned slowly in the moonlight his windows allowed. He clutched the blue blanket around his shoulders in his stubby fingers, clamping his lips together and panting through his nose. His heart hurt and his whole body felt hot and cold at the same time and his head was spinning and-

Naruto shrieked when the door slammed open so hard that it recoiled against the wall. So many bodies he didn't know the numbers for poured in through the door and overturned his furniture, ripping it apart and flinging his toys and blankets all over the place. A larger body, face masked in a smooth black material that didn't allow a glimpse inside snatched his wrist and attempted to shove him to the door. Naruto yelled – unheard through the destruction in his room - and tried to yank his wrist back, dropping his blanket and beating the figure's stomach with his other hand. The attacker grabbed his other hand and twisted it painfully, only strengthening its grip when Naruto screamed.

"Stop it!" Naruto fell to his side and hit his head against the attacker's metal shoe, smacking its ankle with his palm stinging from the force. "Stop it! S-"

Another body joined its companion and grabbed the one slapping hand, Naruto's right. The figure stopped twisting his arm and they both yanked him up between them, letting his pajama-clad legs dangle from between them. The intruders marched him out into the hallway, stuffing a cloth over his nose when he screamed and thrashed in their grips. The last thing he heard was the sound of something pouring on the wooden floors.

When Naruto woke up, it was from being throttled around and to the loud noise of a motor. He recognized the sound as one of the military's rescue vans.

Naruto's eyes felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. He moaned when he managed to get them open, burning along with his nose and throat. Red spots danced in front of Naruto's eyes and his mouth felt like it was filled with cotton balls. He could tell that he was packed tight with many other bodies, presumably his age, judging by the small shoulder poking into his own. A few sobs filled the carrier, a few bangs from where small fists were demanding to see their mothers and fathers. Naruto knew some of those voices. His friends and acquaintances, children of his dad's friends. Sakura was audibly sobbing into her knees, and he recognized the gruff voice of the fat boy and the dominating one of Neji Hyuuga. Neji was the one banging on the carrier's doors, Naruto thought, the boy cursing and threatening to use his father's teachings on the driver if he wasn't sent home soon. Their bodies jumped as the van hit another bump in the road, jolting them to different corners of the van and smacking each other with their small palms.

The van suddenly swerved and squeaked to a violent stop, throwing Naruto's back into the two opening doors of the carrier. He grunted and took Neji down with him, the boy's pale eyes looking livid in the sliver of light the carrier doors allowed. Naruto grunted, apologizing and leaning on the carrier doors. He stumbled when they suddenly gave way, replaced with the blinding light of the summer sun and hands grabbing at him by his armpits. Naruto burned his throat with the surprised yell he let out, jerking his shoulders in a weak attempt to get their gloved hands off of him. Each one of the kids in the carrier was hoisted out by their arms, a smooth white wire being connected around their wrists.

When Naruto tried to tug at the wire when he was being escorted into a place he didn't recognize, it sent bright blue shocks through his bones sharp enough to make him whimper. The man shoving him through gray doors jostled him roughly. Naruto and the other kids were being led to a large room in a single file line, most of them still in their PJs. Some of the girls he knew, who were usually boldly yelling at him for scraping his knees and having dirt under his nails, were sobbing so hard that their shoulders shook with their delicate faces scrunched up and red. They weren't very pretty criers.

He noticed that some of the escorts in front of them had stopped, facing to the front of the metal room where a large stage was bared. A man with bandages on his face and strange warps and lumps under his clothing was standing on a Katon, the friendly bots that kept their village safe and clean.

The man he knew was his father's boss was looking down his nose at all of them, jaw tensed and nose scrunched. He whispered something to a pale man with long hair standing next to him.

Naruto's escort came to a stop. He was one of the last ones, only about ten more kids left to line up. The man set a clear sticker on his cheek, flashing blue for a moment before gently clearing his throat into it, his voice magnified and clear.

"Children of the next generation of military officers," the man announced, holding his hands behind his back. "You will be assigned in platoons and ranks which you will work _diligently_," he paused, waiting for the children to interpret the meaning of the word. "For the rest of your life."

A confused hum of high voices rose after the man finished his speech. They hadn't understood half of what he said.

"Where are our parents!" Neji's even, bold voice spread through the room and he glared at the man. Naruto knew that Neji's father was in the same ranks as his father, but Neji was two years older than all of them and was placed in military education already.

"They will no longer be with you," the man's lips curled and he tilted his head at the boy. "Do you have any other questions?"

This time, Lee, also two years older than all of them, spoke out. "If you don't mind, Commander Danzo, where are our moms and dads ex..actly?"

"They won't _be with you,_ children," Danzo spat and clenched his fists by his sides, draped in an oversized military uniform. "Do you unders-"

"Where are mamas!" Naruto yelled and stamped his foot. "Where are _dadas!" _His screaming was followed up by a few agreeing ones, some high-pitched cursing and a few grunts from the girls. There had to be at least two hundred children from the ages of four to eight in this room, all trying to outtalk each other and demand the locations of their parents.

Danzo clenched his jaw when the man beside him smirked and crossed his arms. Danzo tried to quiet their voices down unsuccessfully, holding his arms out and pushing them down. Their noise only grew louder when kids tried to move and yelped when they received a shock from their handcuffs.

"Shut _up, _you stupid fucking children!" the man bellowed and seethed when shocked gasps arose at his profanity. "They're _dead! _All of your parents are dead! Now listen to me."

"Shino Aburame, Platoon six, Rank B. Chouji Akimichi, Platoon four, rank C, special training. Banhe Ame, Platoon one, Rank A…"

Naruto barely knew what dead meant, but he had a pretty good idea of what it did. He didn't hear his platoon or rank get called out. He only heard his blood humming in his ears and the sniffles of the other children.

The only thing Naruto could remember right now was gagging when Minato and Kushina kissed in front of him. His mother making him terrible pancakes in the morning, but never telling her anything because he loved being spoiled. His mother holding his hand when they crossed streets and went through crowds, Naruto complaining about being a big man but not letting go when they reached the end of the crows and got to the other side of the street. Minato hefting him up and setting Naruto on his shoulders, tickling his stomach until he was dangerously close to peeing himself and bright red. Minato teaching him exercises that he wouldn't remember to burn off his excess energy.

Before Naruto knew it, he was being shoved towards a door to the opposite side of the stage. He was given a heavy dog tag and filed under the Sector ID program.

Apparently, the blond was in Platoon two, Rank A. For the next two years he would train over his body's limits with the kids he was placed with, but didn't know. That was where he had met Kiba and Gaara. Gaara was the smallest of their group, an inch or two shorter than Naruto's puny size at that age. But he had worked well with him. Naruto and Gaara slowly inched up the military's ranking, into the highest barracks and slowly earning respect. They were combat specialists at six and a half, trusted enough to be sent on important missions and small enough to sneak around for confidential ones.

That was where Naruto's short memory of Kiba had been. They had been running through an illegal laboratory, Kiba's personalized shotgun bouncing against his thigh and yelling at Gaara to hurry up.

Platoon 2A had consisted of nine kids and adolescents. Naruto, Kiba, Gaara, Yagura, Yukito, Utakata, Tall Han, Roshi, and Fu had worked very well together.

Meanwhile, outside military walls, not a single being was informed of the war the Sectors were in. Not a single one of them knew about the heartless manslaughter, leaving men and their families stranded in undiscovered parts of the world. Their once lovely, family-friendly Katons became a death sign to those not a citizen. Katons were just meant to pick up litter and incinerate them in the small flamethrowers they had installed inside of their body. But after Naruto's fifth birthday, which had gone by unnoticed, their software had been updated so that if they came across an eliminated person, their new weapons would unfurl and terminate that being.

Naruto, Gaara, and Tsunade's camp had grown up playing with the things inside the isolated walls of the military. They could create spheres of burnt trash so the best friends could pretend they were normal and play catch. Sometimes, the Katons would play fetch with them. They each had their own intelligent software, and it depended whether it would take a pat on the metal back or an inappropriate action to catch the robots' attention.

Outside those walls, things had gone downhill in Konoha. What was meant to be a purging of unneeded citizens led the citizens allowed to stay feel like they had to reproduce at least two children. Lands were running out, Sectors were getting rowdier and rowdier, bandits were getting bolder, and days were getting harder.

It led to the day where Naruto and his friends were excused under the raised hand of Danzo. At seven and eight years old, they were relieved of their statuses and quietly filed into a government drone. Danzo had seen them off, disappointed with the decision he had had to make. He hoped they would use their military knowledge to survive until a brighter sun would shine.

The flight took hours. How many, Naruto couldn't tell, but they were hostilely thrown fifteen feet from the ground with a few Katons landing on top of them. They were stripped of their citizen status and filed under the eliminated persons list. The Katons, once their friends, had latched back onto the drone and flew away to shelter.

They had originally started off as one large group. All of them were selfish at seven years old. They didn't work well together at all.

Neji's materialism was what had split them back then. Naruto had decided to leave their sad excuse of a camp with his old platoon, seven other boys and girls that later named themselves the Jinchuriiki. Naruto promised that he would be back every few months or so to visit his other friends, cycling between them.

That was how it had been, for nine years. Over the lands of unknown territory and ruins of Sectors destroyed by others. Running into bandits and scouts and Katons on his way to every other group, alone and sometimes thinking that it would be the last few minutes of his life. He would use what Earth had to offer to defend himself; branches, rocks. Sakura would patch those cuts up when he got back. Chouji would make a nice meal to celebrate his successful travelling. Shikamaru would wake up from his naps to greet and bid him adieu. Tenten would have a few new knives to teach him about, and Sai would tell him what the names of colors were and illustrate forbidden objects and locations.

When he went back to the Jinchuriiki, Gaara would nod his approval to making it back safely and they would hunt. The other members of the group would carry on, leaning against their alleys that they called camp. They'd run when Katons rolled by or if a single footstep other than one within their group was heard.

He had spent the majority of his life running back and forth between two different worlds.

* * *

><p>Naruto now remembered the severe anger issues that Gaara used to have. Gaara would have frequent rage attacks at small things, but those things were never Naruto. He remembered that Gaara was always calm around him, memories pushing themselves into his mind and making his head hurt. They came to him very slowly, dimly, but uncovering more and more with time. Naruto had grown up on the tip of his toes, and now he was finally beginning to set his whole foot on the ground. Frankly, Naruto didn't want to remember anymore. He had been fine, sitting next to Sasuke under the stars and listening to the raven explain how they were created. Naruto had finally settled down for once, felt calm for once.<p>

It was his fault that he had asked Sakura to tell him. Maybe he should have fucking listened like he listened to Sasuke when his group told Naruto he didn't want to remember.

_Always so persistent_, Sakura had said.

She was right.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for how crappily this is written, guys. I know it's late but I obviously tried to rush it. It's been busy. I hope you like this really shitty chapter that will be edited for detail later. Don't forget to watch for updates and drabbles about S5 on my tumblr (maybe). See ya!


	13. Bones Exposed

Chapter 12: Bones Exposed

* * *

><p>Naruto sat there on the log with his boots dug two inches into the ground. Lee had long since stamped out the fire, giving a solemn nod and salute to the blond and patting him on the shoulder. Naruto numbly stared at the still glowing coals of the fire.<p>

The only thing that had impacted him so far was the abrupt loss of his parents. Naruto remembered that night in perfect clarity, could recall the long red hair stuck under the dining room chair's leg. He especially remembered how _cold _it had been. Though these days, it seemed to be colder.

Naruto could only remember the snippets of what Sakura was able to tell him; nothing outside of them. Naruto couldn't remember any details of his friends other than Gaara's mental issues and the cause of Hinata's stutter.

He sighed heavily and slunk down to the ground, letting his boots create a path of mud as he stretched his legs out and lay his head on the dead log. The stars were out. Naruto wished some of them would stop twinkling so brightly and shift to a different hemisphere.

Sasuke. He hadn't seen the boy all day, aside from breakfast. Sasuke should have made an appearance for lunch and dinner. Naruto should have at least heard Sasuke and Itachi arguing somewhere in the background. All he heard today was Suigetsu's airy whistling and the occasional grunt from Juugo. The girls had certainly asked Naruto where Sasuke was, but he hadn't seen Sasuke in over twelve hours.

Naruto stood and rubbed the back of his aching head. Maybe Sasuke had overslept? Naruto had watched him get those thick stitches out this morning.

Naruto put his hands in his pockets and trudged over pieces of ice to their tent. He kicked the flap open, peeking inside but not spotting a lump of blankets and black spikes of hair. Naruto turned and glanced around, the neighboring tents gray in the moonlight and shivering with a cold gust of wind that traveled by.

He quietly walked through the small path in the forest that led to their car circle. No Sasuke. Naruto approached their SUV and typed in the unlock code on its side. The inside of the car lit up in bright blue, but still no signs of Sasuke. He sighed and locked the SUV.

The walk back, he glanced at the little amount of pavement the trees allowed a view of. Was Sasuke with Itachi in his tent? Naruto furrowed his brows and checked their tent again. Nothing. The boy wasn't in the top three areas he would be.

Metal glinted in the moonlight and Naruto's eyes widened. The gun barrel. Had Sasuke-?

Naruto bound to the barrel and glanced at it, a few mental numbers flying by in his mind as he recounted the guns he had observed. Ten of eleven handguns, although one missing was a given. Five of five rifles, three of three machine guns, two of three pump shotguns and four of four automatic shotguns.

_Sasuke snorted and nodded towards his left arm, just a lump under his thick sweater. "I don't need two arms to shoot a pump," the boy gloated. "I can use momentum with one."_

A handgun and a shotgun. Where was Sasuke? Fuck. Itachi had told him to keep an eye on his brother. Shit. Did Sasuke go hunting alone? What if he got attacked by an animal? What would happen if Itachi-

Naruto cringed and jogged into the thin beginning of the woods, met with an inkling of thick roots and pitch black. "Sasuke," he whispered loudly, then glanced back to Itachi's tent, which had the outline of the man's body shown by his lantern.

"Sasuke, are you in there?" Naruto leaned into the woods and blinked when he thought he closed his eyes. It was darker than usual tonight. "Sasuke, please come back."

Silence. An animal made a weird noise somewhere behind the trees, its small footsteps pattering away from Naruto and deeper into the woods. Naruto winced and leaned further into the woods.

"Sas', come on. Itachi's going to kill me if I don't find you," he called out to the trees. "Damn it."

Naruto turned and jogged to the artillery barrel, rummaging through the butts of the guns and cringing when they locked and clanged together. He fished out a fluorescent yellow flashlight and clicked it on, punching it a few times when it flickered and finally shone brightly.

"Shit," Naruto grumbled and stuffed the flashlight into his stomach, still glowing around the edges. He inched into the woods, stumbling a few times when his feet caught in wild roots. When Naruto was deep enough into the woods for his flashlight to be unseen, he pointed it at a tree in front of him and sighed. Damn. Where the hell could Sasuke be? Best case scenario, the boy had fallen asleep in the branches of a tree… or something like that. Naruto waved the flashlight above him, seeing a few scuffs where they had climbed this exact tree and Naruto may or may not have fallen out of more than a few times. Worst case scenario, Sasuke tried to run away. But he didn't have a reason to, did he?

"S'keeee," he called out, slowly moving the flashlight around himself and walking around. This was the worst time to get lost. How would Naruto look for Sasuke with just a flashlight?

But Naruto would find Sasuke.

Naruto waved the flashlight around and only moved a total of about three feet within the next fifteen minutes. He slumped his shoulders when he realized that straying from the camp was most definitely not a good idea at this hour. Katons and scouts-

Sticks crunched to his right and Naruto tensed. Shit. He had attracted a bunch of fucking Katons, hadn't he? Oh, man. Neji and Tenten were on guard at this hour, but never this area since it was so commonly used. Naruto groaned and sprinted back into the tent area, shutting the flashlight off and diving to the ground. Steady rustles of leaves could now be heard, heading in a beeline towards their camp and becoming louder.

Should Naruto shoot it? That would make a bigger deal out of the situation than it actually was. Then questions would arise of Sasuke's whereabouts, and then he was screwed. He saw Itachi's silhouette shift in his tent. What would the man do if he didn't find Sasuke? Naruto was sure as hell that he'd be matching with those slabs of meat Kabuto had left by the fire.

Kami, he should be taking this more seriously. Sasuke had left, injured, with a major limb in a sling and two guns. The guy could have at least taken Kusanagi. What if… Sasuke was _dead? _No, Naruto shouldn't assume the absolute worse. He shook his head from its side position on its ground and sighed as Itachi shut off his lantern and hit the hay. Sasuke's not dead, he told himself. Sasuke's perfectly capable of handling himself, even though he only had one to use, and was two times smaller than the average buck. He was fine, right?

Naruto winced when the rolling sound hit the grass of their tent circle, steady and smooth. He shifted his head into his arms slowly, knowing that Katons would ID his face and ignore his body to assume it was a dead one. Oh shit, it was just a few feet in front of him, and now right in front of the crown of his head-

Two feet planted themselves on Naruto's back and the gun barrel rummaged quietly. His back cracked loudly under the weight of them and he moaned in pain. "Chouji, you're stepping on me!" He choked.

"_Chouji?"_ A deeper voice demanded, the feet quickly removing themselves.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called and reached out for the boy's leg. He wheezed and batted at the limb, grabbing the back of Sasuke's knee and trying to trip him.

"Naruto, what the hell are you going on the ground? Let go of my leg," Sasuke mumbled back and kicked his calve free from Naruto's grip. "Stop exaggerating about my weight."

"I was looking for you since you've been gone all day. When you came in through the woods, I thought you were a scout or something," Naruto said, rubbing his aching back and stumbling to his feet. "And I'm not," he added.

"You probably weigh more than I do, idiot," Sasuke said and yanked Naruto to his feet.

Naruto shrugged and only hoped that Sasuke could see the shift of his shoulders. The raven ignored him and turned to slug a gun in the metal barrel, producing a handgun from his waist and dropping it in as well.

"How many shots did you use?" Naruto mumbled, eyeing his friend's tired face.

"Zero."

"Where did you go?"

"Out," Sasuke deadpanned and stalked towards their tent, toed his boots off and opened the flap.

"Out where?" Naruto followed the raven into their tent, stiffly lowering himself on top of his blankets and turning to Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugged with one shoulder and threw his jacket to the other side of the tent, making its plastic indent and produce a_ woosh_ when the material slid against each other. "City."

"City?" Naruto repeated and raised his eyebrows. "Like, miles away city? With scouts and Katons and-"

"I'd say it's about six miles away from here," Sasuke interrupted and kneeled on his blankets.

The blond pulled back his own sheets as well. "What were you doing in the city?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Just curious…" Naruto pursed his lips and scratched his hand. At least Sasuke had made it back safely.

Sasuke apparently took pity on Naruto, turned to him, and said, "I read."

Naruto was caught off guard for a few moments. Sasuke had traveled into town - alone -to read? "Wow. Must have been important, 'Sas. What did you read about?" The blond bundled himself into his blankets and turned to the figure of Sasuke.

Sasuke snorted and turned away from Naruto. "I'm not telling you any fucking bedtime stories."

Naruto sniffed. He guessed Sasuke didn't want to talk his damn head off for once. Naruto opened his mouth to blurt what Sakura had told him earlier, but snapped it shut. He didn't know if he was ready to tell the raven; after all, he had just discovered mere hours ago. The burns of the loss of his parents were newly fresh, and Naruto wasn't sure about the terms he, Gaara and Sai laid on now. It was all too confusing to take in at once.

So they lay in silence for some long moments. Naruto's head hadn't stopped hurting since Sakura's speech. No new memories were resurfacing, just a throb every few moments and images of what Sakura had told him. The images were blurry, though, and if they were material, then they would be flimsy. It was weird, though; Naruto was sure that by now, he'd have recovered the holes Sakura didn't fill in, but nothing came up save for a few images of Gaara.

Sasuke sighed. "Of course you have something to say," he whispered. "Don't we talk enough?"

"Not really," the blond replied and played with a few loose threads on one of his blankets. "It's just that you're speaking more words in a day than you have in your life."

"Be quiet."

Naruto did stay quiet for a long while. Their whole camp had gone down a few hours ago. They let the gentle rustle of the wind moving through the woods and owl callings fill in their silence, accompanied by their calm breathing and occasional shifts.

Everything was moving too fast for Naruto. He had so longingly mourned for the whole day. Sleeping now would be like blinking, and moving onto another day that felt like a whole blur. The only thing that hadn't gone a hundred miles per hour over his head was Sasuke's words, wise and nobly pronounced. How leisurely the raven walked out of his tent, into the woods, towards his brother. Sasuke took his time waking up, but when the time came, he could match a deer in speed. Sasuke was patient most of the time, with him but not with others. Maybe Sasuke didn't notice that he talked so much; that he absentmindedly blurted his thoughts as soon as they came sometimes and didn't reprimand himself for his judgmental opinions. Maybe Sasuke was the only person Naruto caught up with at all.

"What is it?" Sasuke murmured, barely audible but just enough so for the blond to hear.

Naruto sighed. He guessed it would all come out here; in this tent, on the land they had been abandoned on. Inside an excuse for a camp on terrain patrolled by robots whose job was to kill them. Out here, it was every man for himself and every morsel of food for your own stomach. You couldn't trust anybody in this world.

But Naruto chose to trust Sasuke at this moment, and unknowingly even before it. He turned his back to Sasuke and took a few deep breaths.

They ended up facing each other, anyway. Sasuke had kept the visible part of his face neutral through Naruto's retelling.

"Something's not right there," Sasuke said and shifted his legs. "It was too abrupt."

Naruto nodded. He didn't have any words; right now, Naruto felt like he had just unwrapped and laid out his insides for Sasuke to inspect. He didn't regret telling the raven, but the unease in his stomach was the inevitable grief that came along with it.

"Why didn't you ask me-"

"Why do I always have to ask for _permission _around here?" Naruto tensed and interrupted. "I lost my memory, not my dignity. Stop leading me around when I know how to walk!"

Oh, no. He hadn't meant to blow up like that. It was like his mouth had run on autopilot.

"We're not 'leading you around'," Sasuke mocked. "If you want advice, then you ask for it. If you want to be treated your age, then _act _like it-"

"Shut up!" Naruto sat up and threw his blankets aside. "I can remember the shit I learned in military school, Sasuke. Time! I need time! You don't understand-"

"_I _don't understand?" Sasuke raised his voice and sat on his legs to match Naruto. "I'm the one with a single fucking clue about how things around here work. You're not careful enough-"

"I'm careful enough for myself and you! You're the one that went to the city alone, Sasuke, not me! You don't know what it's like-"

"Stop fucking victimizing yourself," Sasuke hissed and squared his shoulders. "I lost my parents, too, damn it!"

Naruto froze in his movements to get up. "You did?"

"_Suck it up, _Naruto," the raven sneered at him.

Naruto lowered himself back onto his blankets and crossed his legs. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, reveling over the things they – Sasuke – had blurted. The blond immediately felt guilty for the things he had said, about Sasuke not understanding the loss of parents when the raven had, also. And, like Sasuke had said, Naruto was _victimizing _himself. How could he be so selfish?

"I'm sorry."

"Go have a pity party somewhere else," Sasuke grumbled and settled on his back, throwing his blankets on top of himself again.

"I mean it, Sasuke. I'm sorry. It was just too soon-"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to snap your neck."

"Say you forgive me."

"Naruto, just _shut up. _You're like a little kid."

"But I'm really sorry," Naruto bit out and shuffled closer to Sasuke. "Please, will you forgive me? I didn't know-"

"If I say yes, will you let me sleep?"

"You have to mean it. Please?"

Sasuke paused and sighed explosively, turning as far away from Naruto as possible. "I know you didn't mean it. You're just confused, aren't you?" he deadpanned.

"Yes," Naruto said. "Forgive me?"

"Fine," Sasuke replied, visibly loosening his tensed shoulders and glancing at the blond. "It's not even that big of a deal."

"Really?" The blond asked and hung his face over Sasuke's.

"Yes, really."

Naruto set his lips in a line and shuffled back over to his sleeping bag, gathering his scattered blankets and bundling with them. He guessed that was as close as he would get. "G'night?"

"Hn," the raven breathed back.

* * *

><p>Itachi leaned away from the tent and tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear, silently moving over new snow and into the woods.<p>

So Sasuke had gone to the city alone? His little brother would certainly get reprimanded for that in the future; Itachi couldn't reveal that he had listened in. It was frankly hypocritical that Sasuke would accuse Naruto of not being careful enough.

"…said that he has plenty of men."

Itachi tensed his lips and focused on the barely visible fire through the veil of trees. Kabuto had apparently begun roasting his meets; the smell was prominent from even over ten feet away. The man was sitting on the ground to the west, parallel to Neji and the mentally ill boy. Gaara was seated to the left of Kabuto, gazing just a few inches off Itachi's shoulder and flicking his pointer nail against his thumb. Kabuto's voice could roughly be heard, carried by the wind. Itachi leaned against a thick tree and crossed his arms.

"It's west from here, on the outskirts of two. I'd say it's a week drive and two months by foot, if we're diligent."

"What if they look for us?" Neji more demanded than questioned. "What if we get caught?"

Itachi's brow furrowed, crouching and shuffling a bit closer so that his back was pressed against a strange bush. Was he hearing something he wasn't supposed to?

"They're _coming_ with us," Kabuto snapped and the fire loudly swayed. "Just for a bit."

"Why in the hell," Neji hissed, "should they come with us? _We're _the ones that deserve shelter."

_I'm the only one. _

"We'll break it to them in a few days," Kabuto overrode and leant back on his hands. "Itachi will help us. Won't you, Uchiha?"

So soon, Itachi thought. There was no point in hiding any longer; should he stay hidden, then he would be considered a coward. Itachi rose to his full height and stared at the four occupants of a pact and waited.

Gaara stared at Itachi as if he were a slab of the meat a few feet away from him. The man slowly walked towards the group, making confident eye contact with Neji and Sai. He lowered himself next to Kabuto, who smirked and spat to the side.

"Trying to be slick?" Kabuto sneered and tore a piece of rib from its carcass, then tossed it onto a sizzling pan supported by a tripod over the bonfire. "You'll have to be silent now, won't you?"

Itachi said nothing in favor of staring at the oils and blood of the beef sizzling on the metal saucer. He was sure that his face was flushed from the heat of the fire. "Why?"

Neji snorted in front of him and shut his pale eyes. "Blind."

Kabuto smacked his lips and threw a clump of leftover hide to his right. "I'm sure that you understand that we are weak," he said. "_They _are weak."

Itachi's eyes glided over to Kabuto and said nothing. If this group was weak, what did that make his group alone? Scum?

"Don't faux ignorance," the silver-haired man chuckled and his glasses glinted orange. "You seem to be doing that a lot these days. But I can tell, Itachi. Don't even bother trying."

"I've… cofounded an abandoned military base with a reliable immigrant. I'm sure that you've already heard that it's near Sector Two."

Itachi tensed his jaw. Kabuto found an abandoned military base? "I don't believe you."

"Of course you don't," Kabuto replied. "That's why I kept the summary short. You'll have to see for yourself, won't you, Uchiha?"

"I don't believe you at all," Itachi barked and stood. "I-"

"You'll believe me, all right," Kabuto murmured. "You'll have to. You have that precious little brother of yours, don't you? Baby Sasuke?"

Itachi froze in his movements to stalk away. "What are you trying to get at?"

"I'm getting at," Kabuto mocked and leant forward to dump a torso of a buck on the saucer. "That if you don't help me move these people to the base, baby brother might not even have his right arm."

The brunet contemplated that in his mind. He smirked gently. "I'm sure that you're not threatening to kill my brother."

"But all I am," Kabuto breathed and rose to his feet. "Listen, Itachi. Those friends you had… oh, what are their names? Fish man and blond boy?"

For a few moments, Itachi was confused. He thought Kabuto was referring to Naruto as blond boy; Naruto had no benefit to Itachi whatsoever and he wouldn't be affected if Naruto were included in this. Now, fish man. Fish man? The only person he could think of was-

"Ah, Kisame and Deidara. Those two."

Itachi felt his face slack. Kisame and Deidara? They were dead. They hadn't returned the last time they left their small camp; Sasuke had blubbered something about them trying to kill him. Anemia wasn't uncommon, and he had dismissed Sasuke as overdramatizing his own incompetence. Sasuke had come up with very unreasonable points as his proof and had even faltered.

"They died weeks ago," Itachi deadpanned and shifted his weight. "Is there anything else you'd like to attempt to threaten me about?"

"My," Kabuto smirked. "my. Someone's left you out of the circle, haven't they? Why do you suppose that Kisame and Deidara are dead?"

"They never returned," Itachi said, "and I found traces of their blood."

"Such an intermediate guess," Kabuto scrunched his nose and shook his head. "It must be horrible to learn that the reason they never returned was because they found proper shelter at my base."

Itachi snickered, "I haven't believed a single fucking word that's come out of your mouth since you got here. Kabuto, it's in your best interest to stay away from my whole group, or there will be gruesome consequences. Let's not forget that you were below me in military school."

"So you admit it now," Kabuto rolled his eyes behind his illuminated glasses. "Stop beating around the bush, Itachi. It's in your best interest-"

Itachi spat in Kabuto's face. "_You will not tell me what to do-_"

Strong hands held his forearms tight to his lower back and yanked him away from Kabuto. Itachi distantly noted that Neji had stood up from his seat, matching himself in height and build. Capable.

"I'll repeat myself once," Kabuto barked, "and only once. It's in your best interest that you assist me in packing up this group to go to my base. If you don't, Sasuke loses his only useful limb. You'll be my lackey – my right hand man and yes boy. You will listen to what _I _say, or else Sasuke dies and I turn you in to One."

Itachi curled his lip. Everything flowing out of Kabuto's mouth was bullshit, he believed.

Kabuto rummaged around in his cargo pant pockets and produced a small bag. "If you don't think I'm capable at all," he whispered, "then how am I capable of this?"

Kabuto slowly opened the plastic bag and held a bottle up to Itachi's face. Brunet hair falling in his face barely allowed a view of the letters, but Itachi could clearly read words that he had ever so diligently memorized.

_Iron Supplements. _

"Every day you listen to me, you get one pill for the baby brother," Kabuto murmured and snapped the cap open. He overturned the bottle in his palm, letting the pills hit the plastic sides and each other. "Each day you don't, it's a week without them."

Now, the brunet's shoulders tensed. He counted twelve – their whole supply – of pill bottles. Sasuke's supplements were carefully stored in their SUV. Kabuto had to have cracked their security code within the last few hours… had he predicted this?

"So, is it yes or no?" Kabuto let three red pills slip into his palm and tossed them into the fire, clanging against the pan with burning meat on it.

Negative iron outcome, three. Sasuke had three days less of supplements. Kabuto shook his head in mock sadness.

"You're letting these go to waste?" Kabuto questioned and poured five more pills into his hand. "Don't you care about Sasuke?"

"_Don't you care about me?" _An angry, fourteen-year-old Sasuke appeared in his mind with a gaping slash in his shin deep enough to see fat, sprawled on the dirty ground. "_Are you gonna fucking leave me? You're supposed to be my brother!"_ He cried.

_You're supposed to be my brother. _

Itachi remembered strangling their father in front of his little brother. Sasuke had been petrified for weeks, months, _years. _

He didn't notice Kabuto wincing at the heightening amount of pills in his hand. They melted rusty on the pan, shining and popping.

"Don't you care about him?" Kabuto asked, nearly hesitating when he poured seven pills into his palm.

_Why didn't you ever comfort me?_

Eight.

_It's your fault that I'm the way I am! I want to be brave like Suigetsu, and big like Juugo, and smart like Karin! But I can't, because of you! You did this to me!_

A recent image of Sasuke with his arm tucked inside his tops appeared. What if there wasn't an L-shaped lump under his sweaters, and instead an infected stub on his right shoulder?

_I wish I could be normal. _

Nine.

"Stop," Itachi croaked, barely audible over the decreasing volume of pills against plastic. Kabuto mouthed numbers, counting the pile of red tablets falling into his hand and shaking his head.

"I said stop," he said, louder and more confident this time. Kabuto ran his thumb to separate four pills from five on his palm.

"Stop, I'll do it!"

Kabuto didn't look at Itachi. The orange glare of his lenses did.

"You will follow my orders?"

Itachi nodded and his eyebrow twitched.

"You will follow my orders as long as you yourself are alive?"

Itachi ground his molars against each other but nodded nonetheless.

Kabuto cupped his palm and poured the nine pills back into their bottle. "Let him go, Neji."

Said man slowly let his arms loose. Itachi squared his shoulders and stared Kabuto down.

"I won't harm Sasuke as long as you keep your promise to me," Kabuto said and took a few steps away. "At dawn, we leave to check on the base. Just you and I, Itachi. Get a few hours of sleep and tell no one, not even the souls of your dead parents."

Kabuto turned his back and nodded to Gaara and Sai, who followed him into the woods opposite the camp.

"You heard him,"Neji shoved his palms into the small of his back so that Itachi stumbled forward a few steps. Itachi shrugged his shoulders and glared at the other man, picking up the bag of supplements that Kabuto had tossed and pocketing them.

Neji sneered at him and stalked away. He was a man with delicate and feminine features, identical to his cousin. A shame Hinata had a cousin with a path like this, the brunet thought.

But then again, Itachi was on the same path, wasn't he?

* * *

><p>AN: Woah. What do you guys think is going on here? Can anyone identify some motifs I scatter around? They're in the hospital chap, the chapter before this, and kind of obviously in this chapter. Sorry for such a late update and a pathetically short chapter, but it needed to end here! I'll try to update earlier and with a better chapter. Don't forget to follow me on tumblr, I don't think you really have a choice. Until next chap!


	14. Standard Issue

Chapter 13: Standard Issue

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sasuke exited his tent into a few inches of snow. He sighed and nodded to a few of the other late risers. It was unusual for him to awake this late into the day – it had to be nearly noon. But, he had been travelling all day yesterday.<p>

The raven walked to the center of the camp, teenaged voices already echoing into the cold air accompanied by the roasting aroma of meat. Smoke from their bonfire was rising alarmingly high into the sky. Kami, they were going to attract every Katon in a five mile radius. Hadn't Itachi already told them something?

Sasuke approached the lively center of the camp and wrinkled his nose. The heady and thick smell of smoked meat nearly choked him and made his eyes water. Something was different about the smell, though. Not utterly roasted like it should have been, but with a scent of something bitter. He batted away a thick cloud of smoke to reveal Chouji poking at a sizzling piece of pork and most of the members of the camp having some sort of meat fest.

"Ey, wa' some?" Kiba asked to his side. The rugged boy held out a large chunk of disgustingly oily beef on a fork and waved it in Sasuke's face a bit. Sasuke palmed the meat away and shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows and glancing around for his brother.

If anyone could get a group of teens' attention, it was Itachi. Albeit out of the fear factor, Sasuke couldn't be taken seriously with one useful arm. The leaders of their group were nowhere to be seen. Where could Tsunade and Jiraiya possibly be?

Sasuke tucked a chunk of his bangs behind his ear and weaved through the thick smoke and crackling sounds of the fire. He almost mistook Sai for Itachi; it was when Sai tilted his head that Sasuke noticed the difference. He found Neji and Hinata, Sakura and Ino, nearly stepped on Shikamaru's slumbering face and bumped into Juugo. But Itachi was nowhere to be found.

Sasuke turned and pondered who would know the whereabouts of his brother. He'd already asked Kakashi, to which the man looked generally confused. Suigetsu had glanced around himself and shrugged.

"Last time I saw 'im," Suigetsu hacked and spit heavily unto the ground. The boy winced and chugged a bit of water before starting again, "he was fuckin' with that hunter."

"Fucking with that hunter," Sasuke deadpanned and stared straight into Suigetsu's icy eyes. "Were they fighting?"

Suigetsu shrugged and looked off into the distance, watching a few flakes of snow fall to the ground. "Maybe it was a fight w' words."

Sasuke pictured Itachi and Kabuto arguing once again in his mind. He hadn't seen Kabuto all morning, either.

Sasuke parted and glanced around for tufts of gold hair. He'd seen a glimpse of Naruto when the other boy had woken and left the tent. He walked back to the tents, kicking a few pebbles and pursing his lips when they made loud pangs against the gun barrel. Sasuke glanced inside and found it in full stock, minus the inevitable handgun or two. The girls probably had them.

"Naruto?" he called before he made the few steps to the tent. When he didn't get a response, he sighed and moved to turn back to the road.

"Wha'?" a strangled voice came from their tent. A head fell through the flaps of the tent and Naruto peeked up at Sasuke. "Morning! Have you-"

"Seen my brother?" Sasuke interrupted. They shared a look and sighed together.

"No."

Sasuke shifted his weight to one foot and crossed his arms. Well, at least he could sneak out of camp without his brother noticing. But he needed his brother to notice something right now, since Kakashi couldn't give less than a shit.

"Um," Naruto grunted and hoisted himself out of the tent, dragging Itachi's duffel bag of guns behind him. "I think he's with Kabuto."

"I thought of that," Sasuke pursed his lips. "Suigetsu mentioned that they had been fighting."

"Well," the blond ran a hand through his dirty hair and rocked on his heels. "He kinda told me to steer clear of Kabuto and a few other people."

Itachi had? Sasuke raised his brows. "Who?"

"Kabuto, of course," Naruto lugged the duffel bag in front of Itachi's tent. "Neji, Gaara, and someone else who I don't remember."

Sasuke felt his face go slack. "Naruto," he said. "There's only a bit over fifteen people in this camp."

Naruto gave him a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah…"

"And you can't remember a name?"

"Just give me a few minutes!" Naruto spread his arms. "Uh… Sai."

Sasuke nodded. What could Itachi be doing, if he were actually with Kabuto? Perhaps Itachi had taken off for the day to go into town or hunt by himself. The man valued his alone time.

"Have you at least seen Tsunade or Jiraiya?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not since yesterday."

The raven appreciated Naruto not immediately poking into what he was up to. They were silent now, one that was an odd balance of comfortable with a tinge of awkward. Sasuke guessed their argument last night had changed both of them a bit. He adjusted the tangled strap of his sling and Naruto shifted his weight to one foot. Neither of them wanted to talk, but neither of them wanted to leave. Sasuke felt oddly exposed as he could feel Naruto's eyes on his face and he dug a few pebbles into the ground.

"Hey," Naruto said softly. "Uh, you wanna teach me how to shoot?" The boy turned around and hefted the bag of guns on one arm and presented them to Sasuke.

A black eyebrow twitched. "What, you don't remember now?"

Naruto lowered the bag of guns until they landed with a soft thud on the ground. "What Sakura told me is blurry," he admitted. "Not all of it has come back properly. All I know is what she said."

Sasuke frowned but refrained from commenting about that girl. Instead, he tilted his head and pointed at the bag. "You're carrying it today," he said and ducked into their tent, rummaging around until he produced Kusanagi in its glossy sheath. He slugged it over his shoulder and nodded toward the huge cloud of smoke in their camp.

"Did you eat already?"

"Nah, but I'm fine," Naruto grinned. "You?"

"I'll pass," Sasuke grumbled. He didn't trust a thing that had been touched by Kabuto.

Naruto led the way into the woods this time. A gentle scuff had worn into the path they took, used by Sasuke and a few other rebellious members of the group. Some roots of trees were frozen white and crumbled under their heavy footsteps. Snow in ugly shades of brown and gray littered the path and sloshed around when stepped on.

"So, whatcha gonna teach me today?" the blond asked and pushed some low-hanging branches out of their way.

Sasuke hummed. "What about handguns?"

"What about a rifle?"

The raven rolled his eyes. "You're not ready for that yet, Naruto. Let's start with the basics."

"But you taught me how to shoot a shotgun," Naruto turned to walk backwards and used his hand to shoot into the distance. "I think I'm ready."

"I wouldn't say that you _know _how to handle a shotgun," Sasuke shook his head. "Want me to remind you about what happened the last time you tried to shoot one?"

The other boy tsk'ed. "Wasn't my damn fault."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulder and tilted his head. "Wanna go into the city?"

Sasuke quickly shook his head. He had forgotten that the city had been empty of Katons and any kind of life. There was no use in going to the city if there was just light bulbs and tin cans to shoot at.

"What about it?" Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets. He turned back around and led the way once more, kicking new rocks out of place. He placed his foot against a particularly heavy rock and rolled it over, revealing an oval imprinted into the soil. There were odd animal tracks through this part of the woods. Naruto made out the animal's claws in the track and sniffed.

"When I was there yesterday, there was no Katons. No anything. It was like the city had been evacuated really calmly."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Sasuke replied and shivered. "Not even scraps of them."

"Huh."

They trekked through the cold and thick forest in silence the rest of the way. Naruto had silently asked if they could go into town to check it out somewhere along the way, and Sasuke had gone along with the idea.

While their footsteps and wild animals occasionally broke their silence, Sasuke got lost in his thoughts. In all honesty – what were they doing? Going out without their group, without telling anybody, especially when the authority figures were all nowhere to be seen. This was stupid. This was foolish. Naruto barely knew anything about weapons, and Sasuke only had one viable arm to protect himself with. If they were to be ambushed, they didn't stand a chance.

Actually, did it even matter that they had a sliver of a chance? They were living in an environment where they constantly had to move around to survive. And for what? It wasn't like the Sectors were going to take pity on their evicts and _let them back in. _It had been ten years. A decade. The Sectors most likely wouldn't even have their names on record for past citizens anymore. This was ridiculous.

It was inevitable to think that they would all die sometime in the near future. Their childhoods had been ruined, torn from their fingertips in the favor of a younger, brighter generation to bring better technology upon the Sectors. The Sectors would never take them back. The majority of the other survivors had already been killed by drones, scouts and Katons. So what was the damn point, living out here?

Sasuke furrowed his brows. He had questioned this many times, and answered this many times. They were living with e_ach other. _Sasuke sneered. They were living for each other, by each other, and because of each other. Who was to say that one of their group members would have an allergic reaction to food and die? Who was to say that the others with his condition didn't even know they had anemia?

The Sectors and their leaders had gotten to be selfish. They had murdered the universal donors of blood, or at least the ones they could get their hands on. Sasuke curled his lip and cast his eyes to Naruto, whose shoulders were shifting strongly under his shirt. Some people were lucky. Sick people, people like himself, were left to die without those donors. People with blood disorders and conditions, elders frail and easily bruised, those with already severed limbs that were in dire need of transplants and transfusions. People who needed to wear helmets so they wouldn't hurt themselves, people who couldn't move because they were left in their straitjackets, and people who died the first day because they didn't have the tubes to eat.

Gluttony was an unspoken sin. Sasuke wanted to be selfish. He wanted to be back in One, with his family, and be a complete and absolute spoiled fucking brat. He wanted to be back in a selfish environment, with selfish people and animals, and the selfish leader who had cast them out so he could seek revenge.

But he couldn't.

Why?

Because it wasn't _safe enough _out here. He just _had _to be stuck with a group full of idiots who were wasting the Earth's rolling hills and sinewy valleys.

But Sasuke, as intelligent as he was, could find wormholes in his own theory. He could find small spaces where he could actually be selfish. Sasuke was already a selfish person. He had gone out and read by himself, for himself, hadn't he?

So he glanced at Naruto once again, who fingered the strap of the duffel bag so it wouldn't dig into his armpit. Who kicked up dirt when he walked and never failed to ask how he was doing. How was Naruto such a selfless person?

Maybe this was the way it was supposed to be. Sasuke selfish, Naruto selfless. Sasuke could never find a firm enough grip on something to keep it for himself; but Naruto always found a strong grip on something, just to hand it to somebody else.

Sasuke sighed and focused his eyes on the back of Naruto's head.

Maybe, just maybe, he could have something for himself.

* * *

><p>They had come across a squirrel a little time away from the city. Sasuke had explained that it was best to shoot it with an arrow. Naruto had done so with excellent preciseness.<p>

Now, they faced the steep hill that led down to the same eight-lane road Sasuke had crossed just yesterday. Naruto whistled.

"You need help?" the blond asked and held out an arm.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said tightly. It was definitely more difficult maneuvering downhill with Kusanagi on his back. Naruto slid down the hill like going down a ladder, eventually dropping Itachi's bag of guns so that it hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"Idiot," Sasuke grunted as he skidded downhill a bit when he missed a foothold of root, "Don't fucking break them!"

"They're fine!" Naruto called back, setting his feet on the road and shrugging the bag back onto his back. "Hurry up, Sas."

"Don't call me that," Sasuke replied and nearly tumbled down the last few feet to the pavement. He grabbed onto a thin root and quickly lowered himself.

"Alright," Naruto rubbed his palms together. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"If we're the show, we are already on the road," Sasuke clipped and fixed his chokutō strap. He led Naruto steadily over the pieces of broken glass littering the road, not bothering to step quietly this time. Their footsteps broke multiple pieces of glass at a time, some of the shatters echoing out into the open space.

Four lanes into the road, Sasuke pulled Naruto to a stop. He partially unzipped the duffel on his shoulder and rummaged through the bag, producing a black Jericho. He shoved it through his belt loop and zipped the bag closed.

"Move quietly now," Sasuke hissed when the blond stomped on a large piece of glass and kicked it out of the way. Naruto nodded back to him and begun taking large strides, placing his feet gently on the ground and letting glass shift under his boots.

They continued on like this until they reached the city, crouched and moving efficiently. Sasuke smacked his hand against a tall red building whose roof was hidden by fog. The slap echoed out into the rolling alleys and returned to fall upon their attentive ears. No beeping signals, no footsteps, nothing.

Naruto made quick eye contact with him and nodded towards a large plant. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he watched the blond tug a miniature tree from its terra cotta pot about two feet tall. Naruto heaved it into his arms, hung it over his head, and took a deep breath.

"Shit, Naruto, don't-" Sasuke scowled and shoved Naruto to the side.

He was too late. Naruto flung the vase nearly twenty feet away and it ear-piercingly shattered, its large pieces screeching against the pavement and sending the hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck to the sky. He cringed and relaxed his shoulders.

"You've just got every Katon three miles away on our asses!" Sasuke growled and glanced around for cover. The safest hiding option was in an alley – where the drones usually rolled. The city was too much of an open space.

Naruto spluttered when Sasuke ran to the alley, yanking the Jericho from his belt loop and switching its safety off. Cold wind smacked his cheeks and blew his bangs out of his face when he crouched against the red brick wall and faced the street, partially hidden by gas and water pipes.

Naruto settled closely behind him, breathing heavily. "The hell's the big deal?" he grunted.

Sasuke didn't answer. He kept his eyes glued to the road, slowly scanning up and down the pavement for any signs of movement. Maybe he imagined that tinny beep he just heard, or it was his own heartbeat in his ears. The raven turned to Naruto and nodded his head to the side of the road, where a Katon had climbed out from a sewage hole.

"That's the big deal," Sasuke murmured. He shook his head and elbowed the blond roughly in his gut. Naruto grunted and wheezed, falling back on his haunches from his kneeling position.

"And you're gonna get rid of it," Sasuke hissed and turned to Naruto's flushed face. He shoved the handgun into Naruto's chest and made a gun with his thumb and pointer finger, aiming at the Katon.

Naruto fiddled with the weapon and stared at the raven. "Wait, what?"

Sasuke raised his brows and pointed to the drone. "You," he drawled, "make Katon dead."

"Uh," Naruto flushed redder and glanced at the safety of the Jericho. "Um, do I-"

"Just make it die," Sasuke shrugged and rested the side of his head against the cool wall. Naruto would have to deal with it this time, because he caused this Katon to come out. At least they had something important to use these bullets on, not wasting them for idle target practice.

He heard Naruto gulp and allowed the corner of his lip to tilt up. This was just as Itachi taught him – to clean up his own messes. Naruto was in the same situation as a young Sasuke had been once. He had been skidding rocks across a lake when scouts emerged from the woods opposite of it. Itachi had made Sasuke kill them himself, with a pump shotgun that he didn't know how to use.

So he pretended not to carefully watch Naruto hold the gun incorrectly. He right eyes, out of Naruto's view, twitch when the boy didn't lock his elbow. At least Naruto would save himself some embarrassment because Sasuke had already turned the safety off.

Sasuke tilted his left ear to his shoulder to shield it from the loud bang when Naruto pressed his finger on the gun's trigger. The blond jumped at the noise, but the bullet went cleanly through the white metal of the Katon. The machine sputtered in its mechanics for a moment before tucking its legs in its body and shutting down.

"Good," Sasuke said and stood up, holding his hand out for the gun.

Naruto stood slowly and placed the gun in his hand, barrel facing Sasuke. His face looked a few shades paler and a fine sheen of sweat had formed on his tan forehead.

Sasuke broke their eye contact and maneuvered the gun into his own grip, holding it at a right angle and locking his elbow.

"Locking your elbow will improve your aim," he said.

Naruto nodded and stared at the barrel of the gun, tensing his jaw and swallowing. Sasuke shot another bullet into the Katon just to be safe. The raven turned to him and clicked its safety on, shoving it back into his belt loop and looking up at Naruto.

"Questions?"

"Why'd you make me do that, Sasuke?" Naruto questioned and tensed his jaw.

"Because you threw that vase," Sasuke snapped.

"Why? Couldn't you have taught me before shoving me headfirst into an unfamiliar place?"

The raven tightened his lips. "It was discipline."

Naruto's jaw went slack. "Discipline? _Discipline? _You're 'disciplining' me like a fucking kid?"

Sasuke furrowed his brows and took a small step back. "You threw that pot like a fucking _kid," _he spat back. "Just because it looks empty, doesn't mean it's damn well empty."

Naruto's face and neck turned red for a few long moments as he silently fumed. In all honestly, Sasuke expected the boy to lash out at him – that's why he ducked to the side when Naruto reached for him.

Blue eyes softened by tens of degrees and he slowly lowered his hand back to his side. "Itachi taught you to do that, didn't he?" he whispered.

Sasuke barely stopped his eyes from widening and clenched his jaw. They stood in silence, Naruto patiently waiting for an answer, and Sasuke trying to fight past his own walls.

Maybe a minute or two later, Sasuke nodded two times. He clenched his fists and bore his dark eyes into Naruto's blue, demanding a judgment or a jab at his mindset.

Naruto cast his eyes to the ground for a few seconds and locked them with Sasuke's again. "You don't have to be like him, you know."

Sasuke sneered. "I'm not."

"Make yourself your own person."

"I _am_ my own person," Sasuke snapped and ground his molars together.

"Okay," Naruto smiled. An irritatingly bright smile, at that. "I believe you."

Sasuke flared his nostrils. He hated it, fucking _hated _it, when idiots like Naruto attempted to read him. He wasn't a puzzle to put together or a damn riddle to solve. It wasn't a _game, _trying to understand him. "Don't compare me to Itachi."

"I'm not," Naruto genuinely stated and stuffed his hands in his pockets, frowning at their small height difference. "I'm just saying that you don't have to take after him."

"Who says I'm taking after him?"

"You've been snappy today," Naruto winced and fixed the duffel bag on his shoulder. "Did you take your iron?"

Sasuke growled and ignored the blond's jabs. Fucking immature idiot. He knew a hell of a lot more than Naruto.

"Hey," Naruto called to his back when he turned and jogged to catch up with Sasuke. "I'm just saying, like, be yourself, you know?"

"Shut up."

"I'm just giving you advice," he whined. "I'm sorry if I offended you?"

Naruto's words fell upon Sasuke's deaf ears. Naruto was especially annoying today, whether it be the boy or Sasuke's sour mood. This had been their second argument in a span of less than a day, and Sasuke was already tired of it.

Naruto sighed behind him and idly kicked an old can of soup. Maybe they had both woken up on the wrong side of the tent?

They walked in silence. Sasuke led them to the center of the city. He didn't feel like teaching Naruto shit anymore. Even that tin can he was kicking was annoying him. Naruto kicked the can into a lamppost, creating a loud metallic pang that could rise the dead.

"Oh, for _fuck's sake,_" Sasuke rose his voice. "Can't you _ever-"_

"Who else heard that?" A gruff voice called out, dangerously close to them. Sasuke's look of anger got quickly replaced with one of shock. Naruto froze beside him as a few other voices echoed into the city center.

The raven whipped his head around and sprinted towards a rusted green bench, skidding on a thin layer of ice and nearly falling on his left shoulder. Naruto barreled right next to him and cursed. The bench had small holes on its seat and back, originally to let rain fall through instead of pool. Sasuke used these to peek through at the many faces of a group of people forming in the city center, picking up the canned soup that Naruto had been kicking.

"Think it was a Katon?" A man with red hair tied back in a low ponytail grunted and threw the can to the side. He spat so that his saliva landed just a few inches before Sasuke's feet and fixed one of the golden tassels adorning his military uniform. Sasuke swallowed heavily and planted his eyes on another man with strange markings on his face.

"I'm sure there are other evicts out here," the man said slowly and turned his head to observe the city. His long white hair swished gently when he turned, some of its strands tangling in the wind and sticking to his navy uniform. "Other survivors."

"In here?" The read headed man held out his arms. "Do we track 'em or let 'em die?" he sleazed.

The white-haired man tilted his head. "We'll _kindly move out of their way_," he stated. "For a bit."

A mangy group of about nine other low-ranking men chuckled obnoxiously at that. Each of them had some sort of standard-issue rifle or shotgun on their backs or in their arms, and at least two pistols on either side of their hips. They even had a fancy arrangement of hunting knives, Sasuke noted. If they could ambush this group… They wouldn't need any more weapons

"We'll just have to wait for them to come out," the long-haired man flicked his eyes to lock with Sasuke's. He froze. Could that man see him? He made no sudden movement, didn't even allow himself to blink. He felt Naruto shift uncomfortably beside him and his arm involuntarily twitched.

"And then we'll take what we need," the man finished and smirked at Sasuke. The man set a hand on the classic revolver at his hip and pressed a button on his uniform, holding it up to his mouth. "Portion J, scouted. Clear, vague signs of life." He cast his eyes back to his group. "Let's move. We've stopped too long."

"Come on, sir! We were just here for five minutes!"

"Move," The man barked.

A volume of curses followed the man, single file, into a dark alley and eventually died off. Sasuke turned to Naruto, his eyes wide and his lips tight.

"We need to go!" Naruto whispered furiously and fumbled with the gun bag. "Holy shit, we need to tell Kakashi-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke whispered back. "We just need to focus on getting back to camp right now. Just follow me."

Naruto only frowned and nodded, hugging the guns to himself so they wouldn't clatter against each other. Sasuke unsheathed Kusanagi with some difficulty and crouched low to the ground, guarding himself with her and keeping an eye out for the scouts. They moved together, almost silently behind a tree ten feet away from where they were.

Sasuke nodded and fixed his grip on Kusanagi. They were smashed too closely together, their breaths fanning across each other's' face from where they were facing each other. He mouthed something to Naruto, and Naruto nodded back at him.

"One," Sasuke whispered.

"Two," Naruto breathed back and hugged the duffel closer to himself.

"Three," Sasuke crouched and prepared to move efficiently.

He and Naruto slowly crawled with their backs hunched through the center of the city. Naruto looked at him in askance, the guns in his arms in perfect silence except for the soft pitter of bullets. Sasuke nodded back at him and pointed to the soup can he just stepped over. Unfortunately, Naruto hadn't been paying attention to him.

The blond took a mighty step straight into the can and sent it flying and clattering against a building.

"Hey!"

Naruto booked it.

"Shit!" Sasuke immediately stood up and chased after Naruto, who had already leaped over traffic cones and was stomping his way over broken glass with ground-eating strides. "Naruto! Knock it the fuck off!"

"This is how you gotta do it!" Naruto called back and almost tripped. "If we moved too slowly, they would've seen us!"

"Well, they've probably seen us with all the damn noise you made! We should have snuck around!"

"Still gets us back to camp, doesn't it? What else left do we have to do?"

Sasuke cursed again and caught up with Naruto, their long strides matching each other and blowing their hair out of their faces. _Damn you, Naruto._ Sasuke smirked.

Their breaths created heavy clouds behind them and they breathed in the fresh snow that was falling. It stuck to Sasuke's face and melted in Naruto's eyes, but that was okay.

"You're such a fucking idiot," Sasuke panted and sheathed Kusanagi. He skidded to a stop and glanced back when they reached the steep entrance of the forest. So far, the other group hadn't seen them, but it they weren't careful, then they'd definitely see Naruto and Sasuke climbing up this slope.

Sasuke set a foot on a thick root and hoisted himself up, grabbing another with his right arm and slowly carrying himself up the slope. Naruto was right under him, grunting when he lost his footing and cursing when he almost fell back. Sasuke nearly kicked him in the face. A root he grabbed onto tore out, but he quickly grabbed a stone protruding from the ground and righted himself.

Sasuke hooked his arm and threw his leg over the mossy ground. He rolled back into the forest and caught his breath while he waited for Naruto to climb up the rest of the way. Then he scrunched his nose and looked into the forest.

Honestly, Sasuke had actually contemplated waiting for Naruto. He was currently ripping most of the protruding roots from the terrain. If he ran… Naruto would definitely be able to catch up, right? He snorted.

Sasuke hauled Kusanagi onto his shoulder and placed the Jericho on a mossy patch of ground for Naruto to pick up.

And he, well… he booked it.

"Hey!" Naruto screamed behind him. Sasuke leaped over a tree stump and tore through a holly bush. The ground felt amazing under his feet, slightly dry and leaves crunching from old ice. He ducked under low hanging branches and skirted around roots, leaped over mud puddles and swatted away vines. Damn, he hadn't gotten to run in _months_. All this moving around had kept him too busy to have too much free time, and running with one arm was difficult enough.

He had an hour or more to run, but that was perfect. Sasuke sprinted the whole way home, with the comforting thump of Kusanagi on his back and the clamminess of his slung arm. He opened his right hand to cool the moisture on it and occasionally ran with his head down to dry the sweat on the back of his neck, but not without making sure he was running straight into open space. He even had to stop a few times to catch his robbed breath from the cold wind, hide his face in his sweater to feel it again and remove weeds from the laces of his boots.

Sasuke slowed to a jog and gradually stopped, pressing his forehead to a tree and panting. The temperature was dropping and his mood had moved oppositely.

No footsteps behind him. He could only guess that Naruto had chosen to walk or was too slow to catch up with him. He sank to his haunches and dangled his arms off his knees, ducking his head into his sweater and gulping in warm air.

So, he thought to himself, military officials were scouting in town. That was an obstacle. He thought of what he and Naruto would tell the adults back at camp. Itachi would surely question why they were in town in the first place – but at least they had gotten there in time to witness the scouts. Maybe they could relocate a few miles away, or far, far away.

This would probably be the last time Sasuke ever came to town because of them. He frowned. Sasuke still needed to read up more on the subject he'd been wondering about. Surely he could sneak into the city, but now he knew that there was a great risk. A risk of his friends' and his own life.

Sasuke's breathing calmed and he couldn't tell if the faint thrumming he heard was Naruto's footsteps or his heartbeat. He looked up and, sure enough, Naruto was jogging and huffing towards him. Sasuke couldn't help the quirk of the corners of his lips at the glint in the blond's belt loop. He had seen the Jericho after all.

Naruto stopped in front of him, bending over and letting sweat drip out of his hair and onto the ground. "Dude, what the hell's with you today?" He rasped and collapsed next to Sasuke. "How the hell do you run that fast?"

Sasuke sneered at the scent and sweat coming off of Naruto. Hadn't the boy ever heard of taking a break?

"I run in my free time."

"Kami, don't you ever just relax?"

"Frankly, that's a waste of time," Sasuke clipped. "Why not practice something that could help me out?"

Naruto sighed heavily and knocked the back of his head against the tree. "Man," he grumbled and threw the duffel of guns onto the ground.

Sasuke only flared his nostrils for a few seconds and wisely decided to breathe through his mouth. Perhaps Naruto was just a heavy sweater. He glanced at the ashen sky, which looked like it was going to unleash a heavy storm of snow within a few days. Maybe a blizzard, judging by the heavy wind that slapped their cheeks.

He decided to tilt his head to quickly glance at Naruto. His tan cheeks were flushed a deep red, and his almost nonexistent eyebrows were ruffled by the wind. Sasuke's gaze lingered a bit longer on his short flaxen eyelashes and wandering deep blue irises, and on the pieces of hair that plastered to his neck and behind his ears. Those blue eyes met his own and Sasuke immediately snapped his gaze away to a pile of mossy sticks by their feet. He felt the burn of Naruto's stare on his cheek and tried his best to keep the onslaught of heat on the back of his neck down.

Naruto sighed gently and shouldered their duffel. "Let's go, eh? A walk this time?"

Sasuke snorted. "Yeah, why not."

* * *

><p>Returning to camp was made harder than it should have been. The trek back was filled with small talk and sarcastic comments, real conversations and stupid questions.<p>

It was unfortunate that it had been Konohamaru's shift to guard. It was unfortunate that this wood's foliage was so thick. It had also been unfortunate that Sasuke stepped on a rather large stick and the crack had rung out loud enough to be heard by the boy.

"Ey!" Konohamaru spit out his lollipop and dazedly glared at the forest. "Who's out there?" He pointed his rifle incorrectly into the woods and shifted it madly.

Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes. If they had been Katons, Konohamaru would surely be roasting next to the meat at the bonfire. "It's just us," he called out.

"Yeah, it's Naruto and Sasuke," Naruto said and narrowly stepped over a poison ivy bush.

"Damn y'all scouts," Konohamaru's voice cracked. "Y'all got that new technology to copy someone's voice, I know that! Come out here and we can finish this fair and square!"

"Konohamaru, shut the fuck up," Sasuke growled.

"Ay, Ino! Kiba! You guys, there's scouts over here!"

Naruto groaned. "It's okay, Konohamaru, it's just us."

"Damn it! Hurry up! Show your faces and we can get this done!"

"We'd be done if you'd _shut up," _Sasuke snapped and unsheathed his sword. "Kono-"

"Konohamaru, you idiot, that sounds like Sasuke and Naruto," a female voice cut in. "Stop pointing that gun."

"Sakura, you don't understand! Those scouts got those voice-copying technology!"

"I wish you had been old enough to go to grade school," Sakura snapped back. "Don't you dare shoot."

"Hey, hold up your hand," Naruto said to Sasuke. "You're the palest one in the camp and they'd be able to tell if it's you."

Sasuke glared at the blond. "Why don't you hold up yours? You're the one with a damn summer tan."

"They'll see yours like a flare gun," Naruto grinned innocently and put his hands behind his head.

The raven's eyebrow twitched, but he held his hand up nonetheless.

"What is that?" A different voice asked.

"A scout!" Konohamaru screamed and cocked his rifle. "Damn impersonators of Naruto and Sasuke."

"No, it's us," Sasuke yelled back and waved his hand. They broke through the last of foliage and startled the small crowd that had come to observe the side of the forest.

Konohamaru glanced at both of them and lowered his gun to his waist. "Where have you guys been?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Town," Naruto grumbled and dropped his bag. "And we come with bad news."

"What?" Ino asked, looking at both of them skeptically and crossing her arms. Neji, Sai, Sakura, Karin and Hinata relaxed behind her. "You went all the way into town?"

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, silently agreeing to let Naruto do the talking. The crowd would pay more attention to him, anyway.

Ino shook her head and held up her palm. "Anyway, what 'bad news' do you have? Food shortage?"

"It's actually worse than that," Naruto said awkwardly. "Like, a lot worse."

Sasuke aimed a gentle scowl at him and shook his head. "While we were in town, a team of about ten officials was scouting through."

Ino's soft features immediately hardened and she stood a bit straighter. "My goodness…"

"I didn't look long enough to see what Sector they were from," Sasuke said, "but I'm guessing One or Two."

A few sighs were heard within the gathering and some people stepped away. Sakura furrowed her brows. "Did they say that they were looking through the rural?" she demanded. "Did they say how long they were staying? Did-"

Hinata set her hand on Sakura's shoulder and they made short eye contact. Sakura silenced and stared into the woods, like she was expecting them to come any minute.

"They're staying for a while," Naruto cut in. "Not sure if they'll be coming through here, though. Their captain seemed… dangerous."

"Oh," Sakura sighed. "What do we do? We have to find Tsunade and Jiraiya and tell them!"

"We'll tell them that-"

"No!" Konohamaru suddenly yelled and dropped his gun to his feet. "We can't tell them."

"That's the dumbest shit I have ever heard come out of your mouth," Neji snapped. "Why on earth shouldn't we tell them?"

Konohamaru stewed silently and threw his arms out. "We need to learn how to handle ourselves. We always depend on the adults for every little thing. We can show them that we can handle things like this-"

"Konohamaru," Ino interrupted and shook her head. "I understand what you're saying. We all know that we could pitch in and hunt for ourselves, travel by ourselves, etcetera. But these are _military officials from the Sectors. _If there's any situation we need the adults in, it's this. We can't take risks with a group like this."

Konohamaru's eyes turned glassy and he shook his head harder. "Why don't y'all open your eyes! You wanna know why they're not nowhere to be found? They're testing us! They wanna see how we can handle ourselves so we can be left alone like this! And it seems that we're almost falling apart since we've spent most of the day looking for _them _and didn't even notice that Naruto and Sasuke were gone. We can _show _them that we can handle ourselves. We can show them that we're strong _without_ them-"

"Konohamaru, we're a group. We work _together. _I get what you're saying," Ino argued and set her hands on her hips. "But we can't gamble our chances like this and take a stupid risk. The wisest thing to do right now is tell them."

Konohamaru wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Damn you, you _don't _understand. I just said we spent the _whole day _lookin' for 'em and we find jack shit. Can't even find Kakashi and he was here this morning. We can do it this one time."

Silence hung over the crowd and Sasuke could see over half of its people agreeing with Konohamaru's emotional preteen outburst. He partially agreed with it – but Ino was right. The wisest thing to do overall was tell the adults, and as soon as possible.

"Konohamaru, calm down." Sakura set her palm on his shoulder and pet his brown hair. Konohamaru shrugged it off and shied away from her other hand.

"Damn this," Ino growled. "The hell are we supposed to do?"

"Wait," Sasuke deadpanned.

"For those scouts to get here and gut us?" Ino gestured slicing her neck so violently that her long ponytail swished high to the side. Her blue eyes were wide and angry. "Damn these adults. Itachi's not even here."

Sasuke scrunched his nose and almost sneered. If they were smart enough, capable enough, they could handle a group of military men that were half of their number.

Ino spread her fists and sighed heavily, pressing her index and middle fingers to either of her temples and massaging. "Let's just increase security tonight," she breathed. "Four to the perimeter and myself at the center watching all of you. Neji guarding the tent area. Keep at least two guns in your tents, and have them there as soon as we finish here," she grumbled, glancing at the setting sun. "And keep an eye on each other's back. All of you, partner up. Don't separate at all and avoid going to the bathroom. Forest is off limits from this point on. No yelling," she glared at Konohamaru, "and no loud conversations. Tonight and the upcoming few are strictly inside voices and whispering at sundown. I know the snow's gonna be coming down real hard these next few days, but Chouji, stomp out the fire. We can't have smoke signals giving us away. No lanterns in tents. Finally, if any of the volunteered guards get held hostage," she made eye contact with everyone in the crowd at this. "We don't exist. You're the only one out here. Get that word? Spread it to the others." She barked.

The group looked at each other and sighed heavily. It was going to be a long next few days, adults or not.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and frowned. "Wanna be partners?"

* * *

><p>AN: Finally, a whole chapter in just Sasuke's point of view. Sorry this is 10 days late. I tried to make it as long as I could, since apparently, you guys didn't like last chap. Sorry it was so short. Don't forget to review, give me some golden insight, and ask questions. Those of you faving/following but not reviewing: come out of your hole! Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chap. Until next time.


	15. Bear Cubs

Chapter 14: Bear Cubs

* * *

><p>"Sure," Sasuke replied and leant off of the tree. He watched the others branch off into the camp and argue amongst themselves, eat by the fire and settle into their tents.<p>

Naruto offered him a small grin, looking in the same direction as him. "So, like… we can't go into the city anymore?"

Sasuke pursed his lips and sent the blond a dirty look. "Do you _want _to be fucking killed?"

"Kami, I'm just asking," Naruto held his hands up in front of his chest. "It's not like we couldn't sneak around 'em."

"The thing is, we can't," Sasuke explained. "They have the technology that makes us unable to. They have more than Katons do."

The blond huffed and glanced to the center of the camp, where Chouji could be heard struggling with the fire. Next to him stood Karin, who motioned to Sasuke and then to herself.

"I think Karin's calling you," Naruto said. "I'll catch up with you. Later."

Sasuke grunted a response and trudged over a few bumps and dips in the terrain. The raven ran over what Ino had just ordered in his head. Now that he had obligations digging their claws into his back, he felt sluggish and irritable.

"Hurry up," Karin called. "It's time for that sling to come off."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. Really? She whisked him into a flimsy plastic chair and pulled the zipper of his sweater down.

"Let's see how your collarbone's doing," she mumbled and pushed her glasses higher upon her nose. Karin unfastened his cast away from his neck and lifted it off of his head. She pushed the neck of his sweater to his shoulder and gently prodded along his collarbone, feeling the healed bone in place of what had been delicate fractures.

Sasuke let his eyes laze away from her and stared at the ground. He heard Neji and Ino discussing guard shifts a few feet away from him, assigning a camp's set of partners for two hours at a time. They all had a weight on their shoulders, the impending dread of invasion sagging along with Sasuke's numb arm. Karin rubbed some sort of ointment into his shoulder.

He couldn't, for the life of his own, understand why things had to be like this. If this camp became overpopulated like a Sector? They would expand. They would be stronger. They would be smarter. They wouldn't expel and kill each other at any given time for the sake of food and water – everyone could put their skills in and work together. Something about the eviction of citizens still wasn't _right_ to him. Morally, it wasn't; however, tactically, it was even worse. He knew for a fact that the Sector officials believed in strength of numbers and still did. Why they would want that was a completely different theory to Sasuke – something he couldn't even fathom about.

Sasuke wanted a lot of things. He wanted revenge upon One, those who had ever attacked his group and himself, those who had threatened his friends in the past. Of course, he wanted freedom – but there was a morbid reality. They were living in _miles and miles _of open space, a whole new world, living on their own, doing as they want. But it could never be considered freedom, not to him. They were living on leashes. A leash thrown on each and every one of them, tugged to and fro the surrounding sectors – tracking and torturing them this way and that. It would always be like that, unless there was something to be done.

Lately, though, the color of his old wants had faded on the spectrum of his own reality. Something miniscule that could make a massive change. He had only looked into that side of the color wheel, one that could benefit himself – his thoughts were currently shallow and selfish. He had such basic needs but his wants were out of their small world.

Sasuke's eyes slowly followed a beetle crawling through the dry grass under his boots. If he were to be selfish… would be punished? Could he look into something he wanted without being overridden by guilt and pity? Would Itachi beat him to an inch of his life if he found out?

Karin gently slid the nylon bracelet from his wrist and threw his sling to the ground.

"Get outta here and use it," she said and squeezed his bicep. "I don't want you shooting with it, though."

Sasuke grumbled his thanks and stood up. His arm was definitely asleep – pins and needles were running up and down the appendage. He gingerly lifted his arm to look at the palm of his hand, something he hadn't seen for so long. It was pale, as usual, the creases in his palms defined and pink. Sasuke winced and rubbed his shoulder as he walked back to the tents. His scar tissue was thick and sensitive.

The gentle sun was almost finished setting. It left unsightly gray and brown chunks of snow in its wake, disgusting slosh being spread by their camp member's shoes.

His thoughts returned to the briefing led by Ino. He wasn't sure who set her as the temporary leader, but her assertiveness probably wouldn't let anyone else be. Sasuke truly thought that the military officials weren't going to come tonight – it was the art of deception. If they were to come in any form, they'd send Katons. He nodded to himself. Officials wouldn't risk their own lives for evicts. They'd send the pieces of metal that they could control from acres away, lead them in a circle or where they wanted the group to be and slaughter them.

Sasuke reached the barrel of guns and turned left to the blue tent he and Naruto shared. Naruto's boots were messily thrown on either side of the entrance, prone to letting bugs crawl inside them. He lifted the plastic flap and peeked in, the entire tent warm with its source wrapped in a mound of blankets in the center of the tent.

Sasuke nearly groaned. Naruto was always fucking napping even though he didn't do shit besides talk.

"Naruto," he called.

The blond groaned and rolled away from him, tugging the blankets along with him and yawning. "Don't wake me up," Naruto grumbled.

"Why not?"

Naruto rolled over and over again until he propped himself up on his elbows and grinned at Sasuke. "'Cuz I'll wanna go out."

Sasuke hummed and tilted his head slightly, offering a friendly smirk. "Pick a gun or I'll pick it for you. I know there's a water gun around here somewhere."

Naruto snorted and glared at Sasuke. He finally rose from his spot, stumbling out of the tent and rubbing his eyes. His blond hair was ruffled and his shoulders were still relaxed with sleep. Sasuke let the flap of the tent close, the twenty seconds their interaction took being the longest he had used his left arm. He popped his knuckles for the first time in a long time and sighed.

Naruto practically snapped his neck turning around to look at Sasuke's hands. "Woah, you have another arm!"

Sasuke felt his eyebrow twitch. He needed to learn to accept that the way Naruto worded his sentences were a bit odd sometimes. "I've always had two."

The blond scoffed. "That didn't come out right," he rubbed the back of his neck and offered Sasuke a goofy smile. "I mean you got your slingy off."

Sasuke felt his eye twitch. "Yeah, Karin took it off."

"How's it feel?" Naruto asked, leading them over to the gun barrel. He hunched over to sort through the weapons and ammunition, creating an unnecessary ruckus that could attract a fleet of Katons.

"Feels fine," Sasuke deadpanned and stared into the woods. The sun had set now, only the last couple rays of sunlight beaming across the purple sky. "Other than being asleep and weak, fine."

Naruto hummed and delved farther into the barrel, nearly slicing his hand on a fancy looking hunting knife. "Hey, this looks really familiar…" The blond hoisted a gun from the metal container, glossy and gently used. Its last ten years looked nearly invisible.

"That's mine," Sasuke snapped and placed a hand on the nose of the gun, right above Naruto's.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto hoisted the rest of the rifle out of the barrel, almost scared to handle such an expensive looking thing. Black wood smothered in a layer of tough gloss and a nearly unscathed barrel. He hadn't seen this one in a while. "Didn't you say it was Itachi's?"

"Yeah," Sasuke murmured, taking the gun in his arms. "But he gave it to me a while back. I wonder why it just showed up here," he gently turned the gun around and inspected the intricate mahogany details on the trigger, right up to the Uchiha crest on the butt.

"It wasn't there before," Naruto said and picked out his beloved Jericho from the barrel.

"That's… odd," Sasuke said, rolling his words on his tongue and glancing at the other tents. Maybe the others had managed to dance the gun around shifts while Sasuke wasn't around or paying attention to them. "Maybe Itachi just put it here last night…"

"Speakin' of things that are yours…" Naruto began and cleared his throat. "Or ours. I think we better check in with Ino so we don't get stuck with shitty ass guard times."

Sasuke looked up from inspecting his gun and nodded, slinging the familiar leather strap over his shoulder and walking alongside Naruto to the front of the camp.

* * *

><p>Ino's voice was barely echoing into the open space, arguing with Gaara about something or another. They both stood in an empty area where only one compact car remained. Kakashi's SUV hadn't even left scuff marks, the other cars without a trace. Gaara went silent immediately after catching a glimpse of Naruto and excused himself once the pair approached Ino. Weird, Naruto thought to himself. Ino lifted her hand in a wave and leant against the single car.<p>

"You think they went on vacation?" Naruto asked.

"May be," Ino grumbled. "May be not. This sure as hell is the first time they haven't left a damn note."

"Eh?" Naruto scrunched his brows. "They've done this before?"

Ino pushed herself off the car and set her hands on her hips. "Yeah, they've done it before. They just told us the night before or somethin'," she mumbled and drew a semicircle in the dirt with her foot. "Didn't leave us hanging like this."

A slightly awkward silence followed. There was nothing much to say, though the slight surprise wasn't something to be questioned. The adults had left the members of the camp, like mother bears leaving bear cubs. Couldn't bring them fish or take them anywhere. Sasuke had obviously had no role whatsoever in this camp before, so he had no cents to put in. Naruto was partially amazed at the casualness Ino associated with him asking questions about things he should already know.

"Hey, when do we guard?" Sasuke impatiently cut in.

Ino groaned and tucked a loose piece of her ponytail behind her ear, her eyes droopy and lips frowning. She glanced at a small piece of paper in her hand and scribbled something on it. "You got dawn. Keep track of one hundred and twenty minutes. If either of you don't show up," she glared at Sasuke, "you get turned into Sector bait. Hear me?"

"Yes ma'am," Naruto yelled and noted their guard time in the back of his mind. "We gotcha."

Ino grumbled an incoherent response and turned her back on them, leaning against a mossy tree and glaring at her piece of paper.

Naruto pursed his lips as he and Sasuke walked through a small patch of woods connecting the center camp and parking area. "I don't think she really wants to be in charge. I can tell." He set his arms behind his head.

"No one put her in charge," Sasuke said. "I wonder why she felt like she had to."

"She's always been kinda bossy," Naruto blurted, a faint image of a blond boy with green eyes flying past his mind. His eyebrows scrunched as the image left again and he wasn't sure if it had been there at all.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow at him. Naruto raised his brows back at him since he couldn't raise just one like the raven. "What?"

"Did you just remember something?" Sasuke asked, his swinging left arm momentarily distracting Naruto from his train of thought.

"Uh," Naruto scratched the back of his head, a reminiscent of where used to be a gnarly bump. "I dunno."

Sasuke sighed. "Maybe you'll remember in your sleep, 'cause that's all you seem to do these days."

"Hey, I'm a growing _man_!" Naruto stretched his arms high above his head and let a loud growl escape his lips.

"Uzumaki!" A deep voice yelled, both of their eyes tracking to the side where Neji stood guard. "Keep it down!"

Sasuke bit his lip to hide a smile. They cleared the entrance of the camp, the fire now completely out and covered by a tarp to trap the smoke from giving their location away. Only a couple of bodies sat on the logs that were usually crammed with bodies. Even those had their back turned to fire, a gun in their hand and their eyes staring hardly into the woods. Sai was watching the densest part of the woods with an eerily blank gaze. In terms of creepiness, though, the award went to Gaara – who seemingly hadn't blinked in all the minute they had been walking past. His eyes were empty, only clouded by their obligations and priorities.

"You think that'll be us?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"Nah," Sasuke whispered back. "We'll be better."

The blond leant away from him, raising his eyebrows and grinning lopsidedly. "I'll be better than _you_."

Sasuke snorted and tilted his head to the side. "How can you be better than me if you'd forget that within a few minutes?"

Naruto spluttered for a second or two and grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder, waving his tan fist in his face and frowning. "Say that again, 'Sas! Say it again!"

"For Kami's sake, _shut the fuck up!"_ Neji suddenly hissed from besides them, scowling and looking ready to snap any minute. "I'll fucking shoot you!"

Sasuke jumped a bit higher than he'd like to admit. When had Neji gotten there?

"Hey," Naruto said, looking a bit upset. "Saying you're gonna shoot us isn't cool, dude."

Oh, _Kami, _Sasuke thought to himself, trying to resist rubbing his jaw.

"Yelling when you know we're on high security isn't '_cool, dude'_," Neji spat and scrunched his nose. He rolled his shoulder so that his Uzi magazine clicked loudly against his hip. "You best listen to me."

"Why?" Naruto puffed out his chest a bit and inched closer to Neji, who still stood an inch or two taller than him. "The hell do we have to listen to you for?"

"Knock it off," Sasuke interrupted and shoved Naruto to the side, out of Neji's face. "Stop acting like damn kids. Why the hell don't you get back to guarding, Neji?"

Neji snarled and jutted his shoulder away from Sasuke. A cold gust of wind sent a few strands of his long hair out of his face, revealing his already aging forehead and temples. He tilted his chin back and his hand up, shoving a finger in Sasuke's face that Sasuke refused to cross his eyes to see. He bit his lip to keep himself from cussing Neji out. _Be the bigger person, _Itachi had advised him. He held steady eye contact with Neji's cold gray eyes.

"Hey! The hell is wrong with you!" Naruto riled up again, throwing his hands up in the air and glaring at Neji. "I thought we were all supposed to be a team here!" He smacked Neji's arm out of Sasuke's face, the long finger nearly poking him in the eye.

"We're not any type of fucking _team_," Neji spat as if Naruto had asked him to pick up shit. "And we haven't ever been, dumbass."

"Come on, Naruto," Sasuke shoved the blond in the back again, towards the tents. "Let's just go to bed."

Naruto didn't budge for a while. He moved when Sasuke moved into the corner of his eye and gave him a nasty glare.

They walked briskly back to the tents, tense and alert. It seemed like the whole camp had been soaked in both physical and literal darkness, one of confusion and distrust. Only the sliver of a moon provided the slightest lighting for them to make their way back.

"Man, he's such an ass," Naruto growled and kicked a rock into the woods, hitting a tree and causing a few leaves to rustle. "Fuckin' pisses me off."

"Calm down," Sasuke grumbled and toed off his boots by the entrance of their tent. "All you were doing was giving him bait for him to keep poking at you."

"Not saying anything isn't doing to do anything."

"And saying something is?" Sasuke questioned and held open the tent for him. "You don't always have to fight back, at least verbally. What makes them angry is appearing not to be affected at all."

"Not to be affected at all?" Naruto repeated and thought about it. He remembered a few times where he had tried to tease Sasuke a bit to rile him up, but it didn't work. He had stopped after a couple of times once he saw Sasuke wasn't going to react or do anything. "I see." Naruto kicked his feet out and let his boots hit the ground roughly.

"Yeah," Sasuke murmured and rearranged his own blankets from where Naruto had created a nest with them.

Now they laid in silence, just about two feet between their bodies. Crickets had come out of their small homes to chatter at each other. Wind occasionally made sharp whistles against their tent. Their breathing, light and calm, alternated with each other as one breathed while the other let go of a breath.

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

"What if they do come?"

"Then," Sasuke whispered and experimentally rolled onto his left side. "we fight."

Naruto snorted lightly. "What if they beat us?"

"We run."

"What if they catch us?"

Sasuke paused to think about that for a few seconds, his breath almost catching at the imagined scenario. They laid in silence once again in the few seconds that seemed like moments, minute that seemed like an hour. "Then we fight again."

"Don't give up?" Naruto asked and rolled over to face Sasuke.

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

"Okay," Naruto whispered, quieter than Sasuke knew he had the ability to. "Good night," he murmured, even quieter than before.

Sasuke relaxed and rolled over to face Naruto. "Night."

* * *

><p>Sasuke slept on and off, for maybe minutes or an hour at a time. Each time he woke up, he listened very carefully to the sounds in the woods and the occasional owl hooting. Naruto had been sleeping peacefully for the couple of hours that had passed, curled into a ball and facing Sasuke.<p>

Each time he woke up, he felt even drowsier than before. It was his mind doing this to him - setting an internal alarm clock that could potentially detect danger. It nearly felt like he couldn't sleep at all, waking up with his eyes burning like they had been open or with his heart racing like he had been running.

Eventually, though, he drifted back into sleep, and one that would carry him into the night.

* * *

><p><em>A small boy, called the runt of the pack, stood amongst other boys that were a full head or so taller than him. They all stood side by side in a perfect single file line, in the exact same pressed uniforms that their mothers had fretted so much over the night before. Some of the boys had more golden pins adorning their breast pockets than the others, some of the boys without any at all. <em>

_A tall man, cloaked with a richer blue than the boys standing with their shoulders square and noses high, slowly placed one foot in front of another as he inspected them from the front. His long black hair spilt to his waist and slightly curled where its ends were dry and unkempt. His heavy footsteps created intimidating slams against the marble floor that so many of them had been pushed unto, waxed from its saliva and sweat from the previous afternoon. _

A-17, _the man counted to himself as he came across a lanky boy with only four golden pins on his left breast pocket. _In need of improvement. Will be put in strength and agility training. Fixed diet.

_The man shook his head as his eyes roved across the rest of the boy's body and met with a wrinkle in the shoulder of his uniform. He uncrossed his fingers from behind his back and stood straight in front of the boy, ready to address orders. _

"_Name," the man barked, his face giving away no indication of what he was about to do. _

"_Aono Matsuzaka," the boy replied, his voice almost cracking and his fingers flinching. _

"_Matsuzaka-san," the man replied and let a heavy frown come across his face. "I've noticed that you have a wrinkle on your right shoulder."_

_A silence that was already grim turned tense among the boys. Pity washed over all of them and the amusement that had been there seventeen boys before was long gone._

"_I-I'm sorry, sir."_

"_You think that cuts it in the academy?" The man spat. "Tell me, what do you think we are?"_

"_We are," the boy's inhales turned shaky and he swallowed loudly. "We a-are trained here. For the military. To protect our Sector."_

"_To be what?" The man hissed in his ear and hot spit hit the boy's neck. _

"_L-loyal," Aono stuttered and nearly gasped when the commander flinched in fury. "Aggressive," he rushed. "Ultimate."_

_The man sighed and backed away from the boy, looking at him down his nostrils. "I find it humorous that you have so diligently listed the morals of this school and have yet to follow them," he crooned. "Quite disappointing, actually."_

_The man lifted his leg and a few of the boys failed to conceal their flinches. All they heard as they gently shut their eyes as to not upset the commander was a crunch and a choke of pain, a thud and a few gasps. Then it was time for A-18. _

_Bodies, whimpering and gasping, now littered the ground as Orochimaru neared the end of the line at twenty three. Not one boy had been left standing, all of them found with an imperfection that left them unsuitable for their rank and platoon. He sighed in an odd-tasting mixture of awe and disappointment._

_They had been arranged by age, A-1 being the oldest to the left and A-23 being the youngest to the right. Orochimaru's eyes lazed from where A-2 and on had been standing. _

_A small smile stretched Orochimaru's lips as his eyes reached the only one standing. He stepped up to the boy and saluted him, the smallest boy's tiny hand hitting his small forehead in a brave gesture of honor._

_Seven waxed serpent pins glittered on the boy's breast pocket, of cobras striking boldly and boas ready to curl. _

"_You have yet to disappoint me, Sasuke," Orochimaru said proudly. "I would be interested in moving you on to the graduation with the higher ranks so you will have an opportunity to professionally train with me."_

_The little boy almost jumped and smiled in excitement, barely concealing a comical widening of his dark eyes. He quickly tensed his body like his older brother had helped him to, giving a professional nod. "Thank you, commander. I would be honored to accept your training you have so generously given me the opportunity to use."_

_Orochimaru lowered his hand from his forehead and smirked. "Good." In a genuinely proud gesture, he let his hand fall onto the boy's shoulder a few times. A few loud pats. _

"_I will be enthusiastic to work with you in the future, Sasuke," he said. "You're dismissed. I will send a messenger for your parents."_

_Sasuke patiently waited as the commander left the room. He immediately slumped once the footsteps were completely out of hearing range, glancing down at the limp bodies so much larger than his. _

_He let out a shaky sigh and ran towards the window, climbing on top of the sill and hopping out to roll into clipped and kept bushes lining the gray brick building. Sasuke quickly pushed himself up and sprinted towards the metal gates with barbed wire on top of them, sparkling with a blue aura that he knew was called artificial energy. _

_The gates stopped in their circuiting as he appeared, the energy shifting to a small bulb rising out of the ground. Sasuke looked down at it and let a gentle blue light scan his eyes, his academy identification and credentials being called out robotically and allowing the gates to open. He ran away once again, towards his special neighborhood that was very close to the school and protected its habitants against anticipated attacks. _

_He went through the same process at the entrance of his neighborhood, his mother sent a notification that he had arrived at the main gates and was to arrive in an estimated number of seconds. He turned to the immediate right and ran across his large front lawn with fluffy green grass and weird lawn gnomes that looked like his commander._

_Sasuke broke out into a grin when his mother opened the door and offered a warm smile to him. He charged at her, leaping into her arms as she groaned with his weight and squeezed the life out of her._

"_You're getting too big for this, Sasuke," Mikoto grunted and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You look very cu-handsome," she corrected herself once Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her and detected the beginning of 'cute'. _

_Sasuke, in his childhood innocence, let the matter drop and broke out into more grins as he played with his mother's hair. "Guess what, mama?"_

"_What is it?" She wiped the sweat off of his forehead with her apron and carried him to their great kitchen, setting him down onto the marble counter and smiling her pretty smile in his face. "How did your rank testing go?"_

_Sasuke yelled and pumped his little fists in the air, an impish smirk coming across his face. "I was the only one!" He leapt off of the marble and kicked off his loafers, flying somewhere into the living room. "Me! Me! Me!"_

_Mikoto stood with her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. She hadn't dealt with this kind of energy since Sasuke was four. She had thought that three years would have burnt off that excess energy. _

"_You got a perfect grade?" She questioned and tilted her head, sitting on her knees so that she was closer to her son's height. _

"_Yeah, and everyone else got kicked down!"_

"_Kicked down?" Mikoto raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean, Sasuke?"_

_The child sighed in exasperation and yanked off his thick socks. "Everyone else failed!"_

_Mikoto opened her mouth to question him again, but quickly shut it as she realized she probably wasn't going to get any answers. "Well, I'm proud of you, honey!" She leant forward to give him another kiss but was met by a gust of air and a pair of small socks on the ground. Mikoto shook her head and picked up what Sasuke had managed to throw around, thinking about scheduling an appointment at the local spa._

_Deeper into the Uchiha household, Sasuke ran through another hallway that he knew he would get more appraisal for. He passed his father's office, of who wouldn't be home until tonight, and his mother's craft room, which he was banned from. _

_He skidded and nearly fell on the white marble floor, of which he had already broken his arm on a while ago. Sasuke startled himself and finally slowed down, not wanting to get hurt again._

_Sasuke reached a room with an open door and ivory carpet, jogging in and letting another smile bloom across his face. His brother looked up from his homework, a pencil in his hand and a ruler in another. Itachi's hair just barely touched his shoulders, moving stiffly when Itachi turned to look at his brother._

"_I was the only one that won!" Sasuke jumped on Itachi's twin bed and tackled a large pillow._

"_See, I told you that you would pass, hm?" Itachi yanked on his brother's thin ankle and dragged him off of his bed. "I'll let you choose dinner tonight. Even if it's that's stupid soup you like."_

_Sasuke cheered and smiled at his brother. "The older boys all failed! Orochimaru said he was proud of me!" _

_Itachi chuckled. Before Sasuke knew it, Itachi's hand had rose and he was soon sent stumbling back and scowling._

"_Ow!" he whined, rubbing his forehead and alternating glares at the two fingers Itachi had practically stabbed him with and Itachi's face._

"_I'm proud of you, little brother," Itachi smiled again and pat Sasuke on the head. "What do I always tell you?"_

_Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes, ready to run to his room and play with his toys until his father arrived home early. "I'm not gonna say it! Today is my day!"_

_Itachi chuckled again and shook his head. "It's our day, as a family. Say it and I'll play a game with you."_

_Sasuke froze at that sentence. He loved it when Itachi played one of his cool games with him. Should he run away and not play with Itachi, or give in to him and play?_

_Sasuke simpered. "I know I don't have a lot of blood, but…" he deadpanned. _

"_It only takes one," Itachi whispered._

* * *

><p>Sasuke gasped and sat up from his sleeping position, robbed of his breath and covered in a cold sweat. <em>Itachi.<em>

A wave of dizziness washed over him and he cradled his head in his knees, clutching the sheets to bring himself to reality. He worked to slow his breathing and fell backwards onto his pillow again, resting his arms over his eyes.

Sasuke dropped his arms to his sides and turned his head to the right. Naruto was gone.

He sat up again and let his right hand wander over to his left shoulder, pushing on the collarbone that used to be so fragile and running over his large, slowly healing scar.

He laid back down and wiped his forehead, pushing the blankets off of himself. Naruto had probably gone to the bathroom.

Sasuke rolled back onto his left side and stared at the tarp floor until his eyes got too dry to keep open. He relaxed and tried to will his body and mind to go to sleep.

_It only takes one?_ Sasuke could very vaguely remember Itachi ever saying that, and might as well have forgotten it. He did remember that day, though, but not ever that conversation with Itachi. His seven year old mind had probably overridden.

Karin would occasionally say that all dreams had meanings to them, maybe a few years ago. If only he could research dreams like he had for many other damn things at the city library.

His eyelids felt heavy once again and he didn't question Naruto's long absence. Sasuke welcomed sleep, yanking the blankets back over himself and concentrating on the gentle whistle of his own breathing.

Heavy footsteps jolted him back awake, this time so he was squatting. The footsteps were angry, accompanied by the metal clanking of what Sasuke recognized as the metal of an assault rifle. He fished around in the sheets as quietly as he could for Kusanagi, crawling over to Naruto's side of the tent to find her nestled in a corner. Hoping the moonlight wouldn't give away his stance, he unsheathed Kusanagi and pressed his side against the entrance of the tent. He focused his weight on his back leg and silently unzipped a portion of the entrance enough for his finger to fit through. He held the opening zipper lips with his pointer, silencing the sound.

Once the entrance had a space large enough for him to look through, he peeked outside of the tent. Nothing. Fresh snow had fallen during the night and was still falling, Naruto having left some time ago, maybe an hour. Did he miss their shift because Naruto wanted him to sleep more?

If he missed it or not, Sasuke wasn't going to ignore the risk of intruders in their camp. He quickly unzipped the rest of the entrance and smoothly moved outside, holding the chokutō in a defensive position. Sasuke inspected the area around him, snow glittering in the moonlight and silencing his steps against dry grass. Coldness seeped into the ankles of his sweatpants and chilled his bare feet, but he would have to sacrifice his own comfort for the safety of his friends.

Sasuke slowly moved out farther, glancing all around himself once more. So far, he saw no sign of danger – the others were probably sleeping or guarding. He lowered Kusanagi and stabbed her into the earth so that she stood out of the ground.

If that had been a military official, Sasuke thought, then he got past me. Sasuke still felt anticipation in the cold air, though, but dismissed it to put his boots on. He turned back around and tensed when he heard light footsteps coming from a direction he couldn't tell.

He stared at Kusanagi, merely teen feet away from him. The footsteps became louder, echoing off of the snow so that his only option was to turn in a circle and look if he wanted to see where they were coming from. Sasuke guessed he was cornered, though, and leapt for Kusanagi.

He grabbed Kusanagi and raised her in front of his face. Sasuke tensed his biceps, left muscle weak, and turned to glare into darkness once again. The footsteps echoed again, this time a bit more coherent. Sasuke quickly turned to face where they came from, but again, there was nobody they were coming from.

Sasuke soon felt the predatorial gaze in his lower back. They were staring at him. If Sasuke couldn't track this person down, then…

The same footsteps crunched in the snow to his left, coming towards him at an alarming rate. Sasuke charged at the footsteps with Kusanagi protecting his chest, his left shoulder already sore. Sasuke couldn't see anything except white.

The footsteps stopped and then started again towards his right. If this official wanted to play a game… then Sasuke would win. He tossed Kusanagi down and prepared himself for a physical fight.

The footsteps, loud and clear, charged towards him again and Sasuke charged back. The official and him ran towards each other, his face almost revealed by the moonlight—

Suddenly, a cold force shoved him back and went inside his sweater, immediately melting. Sasuke fell onto his back and into the six inches of soft snow that bundled him. He sat there for a few seconds, listening to the pathetically concealed snorts that he recognized as Naruto laughing with himself.

He stood up and brushed himself off, angry that his clothing was going to be soaked and that Naruto would dare mess around at a time like this. Sasuke had genuinely thought that he was a military official and had nearly fucking _attacked_ Naruto.

Sasuke seethed for a few moments, clenching his fists and biting his lips. He felt hot in the face, for both being stupid and being tricked by Naruto, and cold on the rump because the blond had fucking shoved him.

Naruto wheezed a few times and panted, bending over and wiping his face.

"Caught your breath?" Sasuke said in a neutral tone, quiet enough for the night.

"Yeah, I think s-so-"Naruto launched himself off into another bout of silent laughter, this time falling to his knees and clutching his stomach. "You looked so fucking serious! A-and you-"

"Because I _was _serious!" Sasuke hissed and resisted from stomping on Naruto. "I was fucking serious because I woke up in the middle of the damn night to footsteps not even twelve hours right after we see Sector officials!" He shut his lips and felt his face heat up again, this time in anger.

Naruto had calmed down sometime during his blowup. He raised himself into a kneeling position and then stood up, face serious. "Are you really that angry?"

"Yes! I am this fucking angry!" Sasuke's fist nearly raised itself to punch him.

The blond sighed and looked at his feet. "I'm sor-"

"Don't act like a child," he snapped and stalked to where Kusanagi had been thrown. Sasuke picked her up and stabbed her back into the earth.

"But I am," Naruto spoke up and grabbed his shoulder so that they were facing each other. "I just…" the blond looked to the side, his irises visible in the moonlight. "You were just so _tense _and I didn't want you to get a hemorrhoid or something-"

Sasuke, despite himself, hid a short laugh with a cough to the side. "I think you meant ulcer."

"Yeah! Yeah, that," Naruto held both of his shoulders now, hands warm and fingers comforting the scar tissue on Sasuke's shoulder. "I wanted to lighten the mood. I didn't mean for this to get so serious."

He tried to move away, but Naruto's hands were persistent. Sasuke looked up into Naruto's face, deep blue eyes sincere and his blond hair being barraged by "dandruff". He sighed.

"Whatever," he grumbled and tried to jostle himself free again, but Naruto held on once again. "Just let me go."

"Do you forgive me?" the blond's eyebrows furrowed and he shook Sasuke's shoulders slightly. "I mean it, I'm sorry…"

"Not this shit again," Sasuke grumbled under his breath. "Stop being such a sap. It's fine. Just don't fuck around like that again."

Naruto slowly let him go, his hands returning to his sides. "I still don't feel like you've forgiven me."

"I don't see why it matters. Don't we have guard duty in a few hours?"

"Here," Naruto knelt down and spread his arms around a large portion of snow. "If you throw all of this on me," he grunted as he brought up the fluffy substance from its stubborn spot, "then I'll know you forgive me."

Naruto packed part of the lump together, making a snowball about the size of his own head. He did that a couple of more times, finally totaling three and smashed them all together to make a monstrous ball of snow. He stood up and rubbed his hands against each other, frozen and numb from playing with the snow too much.

Sasuke sighed again and rubbed his temples. "I don't think we have time for this kind of shit. Let's just go to bed and get up in time for guard, Naruto. This has to be serious."

Naruto glared at him and puffed out his chest, standing tall and squaring his shoulders. "I'll be serious once you throw this snowball at me." _I can't ever sleep when someone's mad at me. _

"Naruto, it's not that big of a deal," Sasuke said, exasperated now. "Can't we just let it go?"

"Just throw it at me!" Naruto snapped. "Why don't you want to?"

"Well, like I've been saying for the past damn five minutes, one, we need to get to bed, two, I'm sleepy, and three, you're gonna attract the officials if nobody else does."

"I think you forgot four," Naruto crooned and swayed from side to side.

"There is no number four."

"Yeah, there is…" Naruto looked into the crescent moon and mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" Sasuke asked, genuinely confused. He was sleepy and irritated and didn't need to deal with Naruto's shit right now.

Naruto raised his hand to his mouth and coughed a bit, turning his back and lacing his fingers together behind him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Chicken!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Sasuke with wide eyes. "Chicken, chicken, chicken!"

Sasuke turned around, contemplating whether or not he should punch Naruto in the neck to shut him up. "I'm not a fucking chicken."

Ah, he took the bait, Naruto thought to himself and grinned. "Then why won't you throw this perfectly good snowball at me?"

"Because we have priorities," Sasuke snapped again and waved. He walked over to their tent and sat down inside, unlacing his boots. "I think you should get to bed before I lock you out."

"Are you scared, Sas'?" Naruto called and made devil horns on his head with his index fingers. "Scared that your little reputation will get all messed up?"

Something in Sasuke felt like it was being pinched and he glared at the blond. "Shut up."

Naruto raised his hands to his armpits, sending Sasuke a defiant look that spoke a hundred words.

Sasuke glanced around the tents and then into the woods, then back at Naruto. "Don't you fucking dare."

The blond slowly and dramatically tilted his chin into the air, like a wolf ready to howl. "Bach," he sang and then turned away from Sasuke. "Bach bach!" He yelled.

Holy shit, Sasuke thought. _Is he for real? _"You are not doing this right now."

"Bach! Bach!" Naruto flapped his imaginary wings and glared at Sasuke. "_Bach_!"

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke stood up and cracked his knuckles. "I'll knock your fucking teeth out if you yell one more time."

"_Bach_!" Naruto turned away from him and begun marching around in circles, flapping his wings and yelling into the night.

"Shut the fuck up," Sasuke grumbled and picked up a handful of snow. He threw it straight into Naruto's face, who spluttered and sneezed.

Naruto continued on with his chicken noises, making Sasuke's ears feel like they were on fire and probably beginning to wake the others. Sasuke jogged back towards the entrance of the tent and bent over to pick up the gigantic snowball that he had made.

Sasuke lugged it into his arms, hugging it to his chest and moving as silently as he could to sneak up behind Naruto.

Before he knew it, he had slammed the ball over Naruto's head, sending Naruto tumbling to the ground and falling in even more snow.

His blond head was buried under the snow, not moving or breathing at all.

Sasuke snorted and shook his hands of the snow, ready to return to bed.

Naruto's head rose out of the snow and dopily grinned at Sasuke. "That's more like it." _  
><em>

* * *

><p>AN: When I first updated this, I was in a rush and forgot to put the page breaks and an author's note. Sorry for such a long wait! I'd really like to hear you guys' insight and thoughts on this chapter so please review. Check my bio for links. Later :)


	16. Under Oblivion

Chapter 15: Under Oblivion

* * *

><p>By the time they had stopped messing around and talking to go to bed, Ino and Sakura had quietly woken them up from their mere thirty minutes of sleep. Sasuke had had barely even enough time to <em>consider <em>falling asleep, unlike Naruto, who had fallen asleep within five minutes.

Sasuke's eyes burned and his nose, ears, and fingertips were numb. He and Naruto had continued to wrestle in the snow for about an hour after the blond had so stupidly taunted him. Sakura and Ino hadn't even bothered to ask why the clean white snow was interrupted with footprints and clumps right outside of their tents.

Now Sasuke and Naruto grudgingly stood outside of their tent, listening to the summary of suspicious activity within the last two hours from the girls.

"I only heard a few sounds from the woods," Sakura said and unloaded her rifle to hand the extra ammo to the blond. "but they were most likely from foxes or rabbits. Didn't sound heavy enough to be a person."

Sasuke nodded attentively and turned to Ino. "Is there anything specific that we should be on watch for?"

She cast her eyes up in thought and shook her head. "Just besides the basic footsteps and signs of ambush, you should be fine. Disassemble Katons if they roll on by. Those officials didn't have anything under their sleeves, did they? Hunting dogs or trackers?"

"No," Sasuke said. "The only thing about them is that they were heavily armed."

"Nothing specific, then."

They were debriefed and ushered to the east and west points of the camp. Sasuke realized that the camp was longer than it was wider, confined in a nearly cramped space. His boots sunk into at least six inches of snow, tossing flakes in every direction when he pulled his feet out. His bangs flew away from his forehead when an icy gust of wind blew by, bringing snowflakes into his eyes and drying them out even more than they already were. Sasuke cursed to himself. The weather out here was never neutral.

On his left shoulder was Kusanagi, shimmering with the snowflakes and gracefully sliding against his hip. On his right shoulder was his favorite rifle, clacking against the top of his boot and belt. Sasuke had a handgun in either of his pockets, both only filled with five shots. His precision didn't call for any more than that.

Now he neared the edge of the camp, someone having had dragged a log as a choice to sit down. To Sasuke, sitting down on watch was slacking. He wouldn't lower himself to that level. Instead he opened his stance to a broader one, cocked his rifle, and squinted his eyes into the direction that the snow was coming from. Damn it. He should have pushed Naruto this way.

In Sasuke's tact plan, he would stand watch with his rifle. If an official or Katon were to approach the camp, he would immediately shoot the official in his legs or arms and disarm him, and in a Katon's case, shoot it and then disassemble it. Should the official survive the shot and close in on him for hand to hand combat, Kusanagi would be unsheathed and the official would have one less limb.

Sasuke slid his hand over the lacquered wood of his rifle and smirked to himself. He had a great plan.

* * *

><p>Naruto stumbled over roots hidden by the snow and nearly stabbed himself in the hip with his hunting knife. <em>Damn<em>, he thought to himself. _It sure does get rough out here._

He patted his Jericho concealed by his shirt to make sure he hadn't hurt it. Sasuke had told him that hand to hand combat was probably his strength. He'd make sure to challenge his friend someday.

Naruto approached the west side of the camp, heavy snow hitting the back of his jacket and nestling behind his ears. He ran a hand through his hair to dislodge the clumpy flakes, freezing his ears and melting down his neck. Naruto reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a few peanuts he had snatched from the food cooler. Growing teenagers needed snacks.

Someone had put a plastic beach chair facing the woods, so he seated himself in it and twirled his Jericho in his right hand, eating out of his left. _Only two hours to go, Uzumaki_, he thought to himself. He wondered what Sasuke was doing.

Naruto leant back into the chair, relaxing and staring into the woods. He wondered what would happen if an official popped out of there. He envisioned himself heroically beating them up and laying them on the ground like meat in front of their camp.

In his vision, it was spring, of course. The sun provided enough light for the grass to be a luscious green and the sky a bright blue. He could see foxes weaving through the forest in the distance and hawks far above their heads. There was no more cold, no more darkness, no more of the missing members of the camp. Everyone and everything was there. Shikamaru, who Naruto had recently discovered as a cool person, was awake and had patted him on the back for his fancy job. He had already received plenty of thanks beforehand, meaty slaps on the back from everyone and some heartfelt praise from the girls. For once, Sai had looked up from his near-extinct drawing tablet and offered him a calm nod, no perverted comments to be heard for the rest of the day.

But he was only halfheartedly accepting the praise from his friends and shaking hands with a grip less firm than the one he usually had. His blue eyes skirted away from the others' brown, green, and gray to glance across their camp and snap back to someone who had said something. Everyone and their tent had thanked him already. The bigger men of the camp were moving to disarm and pocket the officials' weapons, dragging the bodies side by side and dumping them limply. The silver-haired man, Kimimaro, who had looked so high and mighty in his life, now looked like a tossed rag toll with blood matted in his hair and tears in his uniform. The women, who were arguably more in-touch with modern technology than the men, quickly disassembled their electronics and trackers.

Soon enough, Naruto's small crowd had dispersed and he was left standing in the front of the camp, alone. The members milled around him as they carried on their own tasks, chatting amongst themselves and ruffling the grass under their feet. He unlaced his fingers from behind his back and walked forward, heading to the tents in which he knew he would find solace.

He quickened his steps and anticipated his arrival to the tent area, ignoring the soreness in his jaw from where he knew he had already talked too much. _Chatterbox,_ they called him. Oh, they would know. Naruto had bent over to lift away the flap of his tent, ready to poke his head inside.

"Hey," a deep voice called out from behind him, freezing his moments and driving him to stand straight up.

"Uh… hi!" Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head. He regarded Sasuke with an interested gaze, amazed by the colors he seemed to be radiating.

Sasuke tilted his head to the left, or Naruto's right, or… his brain seemed a bit more frizzled than normal, short circuiting at a simple thought and picking up at a random one. The raven stepped a bit closer so that there was only about a foot and a half of space between them, enough for the blond to question his vision.

"So I saw what went down back there…" Sasuke cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

Naruto nodded shakily. Sasuke's words were going in one ear and flying out the other. For some reason, the pale boy looked… _vivid_. His hair seemed more detailed, bluer than its normally black tone… brought out by the sun. His skin was now a healthy ivory compared to the snow-white tone that it held in the winter. Sasuke's eyes seemed realer to Naruto. He could see the darkest brown shade they were, revealed by the rays of sun and pronounced by his fine eyebrows. Whatever Sasuke was saying took enough effort to barely reveal his straight white teeth, a product of persistent mouth washing every night before bed. His lips, thin and pink, stretched into a thin line in what _could_ be identified as annoyance – Naruto couldn't currently tell. Then they moved in a rhythm that he vaguely recognized as something that was spoken to him every day. What was it again? Did it start with an 'N'?

"Naruto!" Sasuke growled, trying to get past that mist of daze currently on the blond's face. "Naruto!"

Blue eyes slowly slid back up to his eyes, glazed over and confused. "Huh?"

The raven scrunched his nose and clenched his jaw, flexing his biceps and trying to keep his eyebrow from twitching. "I've been calling you for the past few minutes."

"Oh…" Naruto sobered his expression and his Adam's apple bobbed gently. "Uh, sorry."

Sasuke cast his eyes to the sky in a gently role and relaxed his shoulders. "Idiot," he murmured and shook his head. He looked back up with a content smirk on his face, a sparkle of mirth in his eyes.

Naruto immediately adopted that dumbass look on his face, Sasuke noticed. It made his lips turn up a little bit higher. "Good job."

At that moment, Spaceship Naruto took off into space at a speed faster than light. A silly grin formed on his lips and his ears warmed up a bit. He couldn't help but _stare _into eyes that he had never known to hold so much depth, that caused his jaw to barely loosen and his heartbeat pick up ever so slightly. He never realized the intellectual rarity that such a common pair of physical traits held; he never knew the intelligence and abilities of someone whose hair, skin, and eye color could be found all across this land. But there was no denying the striking handsomeness that Sasuke held with such nonchalance.

Naruto swore he felt his heartbeat in his toes. _Different_, he thought. There was something different about Sasuke. Had he just thought about it? He couldn't remember. "Thanks," the blond managed with a distant voice. "It wasn't that hard or anything…"

Sasuke snorted, clasping his hands behind his back and allowing a small, impish smile spread on his face. "I'm sure it wasn't, Naruto."

The blond got a fuller view of straight teeth once again, letting both of his brows raise. "Uh…" his lip twitched a couple of times. "What?"

"I said," Sasuke tilted his head back and let his smile diminish to a satisfactory smirk. "I'm _sure_ it was."

Naruto blinked heavily a few times, seeming to break out of his daze and squinting at the raven. "I didn't ask for any attitude."

"You left yourself open," Sasuke shrugged and turned his back to the blond.

Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms. "How?"

He turned back to Naruto so that he was walking backwards, a brow raised and a patronizing look on his face. "Staring at me with goo-goo eyes," Sasuke cupped his hands around his eyes like binoculars.

"What!" Naruto screeched, hoping that Sasuke couldn't see the results of his scorching face from where he was. "I was not!"

"I'm sure you weren't."

Naruto growled and stomped after Sasuke's back, his shoulders squared and his lips pursed. "Say it to my fucking face!"

Sasuke turned back around, his face aligned in a calm and calculating look. "It," he deadpanned.

"Don't try to outsmart me," Naruto growled and mimed wringing the raven's neck. "you know what I mean, you asshole."

Sasuke elbowed him in the ribs and shushed him, chuckling to himself and aligning their steps. "I'm sure."

Naruto rubbed his chin and looked up into the lightening sky, letting snowflakes gather on his hairline. He distantly wondered where _that _came from. He remembered being teased for having too much of an imagination. Maybe it was making a comeback? He blinked a few times and rolled his eyes back into his head, sighing and watching his misted breath flow away from him.

Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Naruto wondered if he had fallen asleep. The woods looked eerie and captivating, the tops of trees and their smaller branches frozen over. He glared into the foliage, scoping for any type of movement. Silence.

Once Naruto reassured himself that he hadn't slacked off so much to let intruders into the camp, he returned to his thoughts. Sasuke was an interesting person. He acted like he didn't care about Naruto, yet taught him how to protect himself. He let Naruto eat food off of his plate when he needed the nutrients and vitamins so dearly. When Naruto would wake up in a sweat from a nightmare and fling blankets off of himself, Sasuke would turn over so that the dull moonlight would reveal a good half of his face before asking what his problem was. Sasuke's face… he fiddled with his thumbs as he thought about the aristocratic features, always set in a calm façade that Naruto would have to shove himself through.

What _was_ it about Sasuke? He was irritatingly good looking, to a point where Naruto couldn't stop thinking about it. It made him frustrated. He was lean and almost ghastly pale, possessing a dancer's body, but Naruto had observed his skin so much to see the ivory tones in it. The edges of Naruto's lips tilted up when he wondered how pale his stomach would be. That thought would be saved for another time. Sasuke was graceful even when a knife was launched through his shoulder and his face contorted in pain. He could consider the most rational solution in a tough situation, stay calm under extreme stress and work until the product was perfect. Sasuke was intelligent and quick-thinking, more so than Naruto thought he could ever be. Sasuke was the poster child of an upper-class Sector kid, way out of his league. He wondered how their personalities even mixed together.

Naruto growled and clutched his head, trying to knock thoughts of the raven out of there. Why was it so horribly easy to think about his best friend? Is that what friendship comes along with? Was he _supposed _to be thinking about Sasuke like this? He whimpered to himself and dragged his hands down his face, sighing and letting his eyes droop to his feet.

It was alright to think that his best friend was talented and interesting and handsome, right? Was it okay to yearn for a deeper emotional connection to him? Some friends were like that, right? Girls, right? Shit, he didn't know anything about girls. He had walked in on Sakura topless and thought she was Gaara.

Kami, he didn't want his thoughts to take such a complicated turn. Sasuke in his mind was simple and paradoxically complicated at the same time. He didn't know what to think of it or dare say about it. He was confused and… he threw his head back into the plastic chair, accidentally reclining it and nearly tumbling over. Now he looked at the deep purple sky that reminded him of Sasuke's chokutō. Naruto couldn't even tell the thoughts that were most confusing to himself to Sasuke because they were about _him_.

The blond slumped forward, letting his Jericho dangle between his fingers and his elbows rest on his knees. He let his droopy eyes stare into the forest, now regretting the decision to stay up to prank Sasuke. At least he got him to smile.

Naruto flinched and scowled down at his own two fingers pinching his arm. Damn. There he went again, thinking about Sasuke. Maybe he should talk to someone about it… but not anybody inside the camp at the moment. Maybe he would approach Kakashi or Jiraiya about his haunting and persistent thoughts. They were common enough to be considered abnormal, by his guessing… but what did he know?

He sighed for the umpteenth time that morning and tossed some snow onto his face. He immediately felt more awake and alert, noticing the squirrel traveling along thin branches and the shadow of an owl deeper into the woods. Its hoot echoed inside the forest, barely audible.

Naruto stood up and squared his shoulders, rearing his attention back to the forest. He couldn't be so easily distracted, even by such a sensitive subject. He'd politely and respectively raise his middle finger to thoughts of Sasuke. He had a camp and friends in it to protect.

* * *

><p>On the opposite side of the camp, Sasuke rolled his shoulder in a pathetic attempt to wake it up from being in a defensive position so long. For the past three hours, he had kept his eye in the scope of the rifle and his body in the ready stance of attack. His newly unbound left shoulder protested in every which way it could.<p>

He sighed. The only signs of life around here were the arctic foxes sneaking out from their holes and the occasional owl hoot. Sasuke guessed that there was no threat to watch for. After all, the night had passed and the sky was transitioning from lavender to pink. He quietly seated himself in the plastic chair the previous guard had left, cradling his left arm and frowning.

It had been pretty obvious that the military officials had noticed them. It wasn't that hard _not_ to, after all. He and Naruto had probably left footsteps leading to the –

_Wait. _Sasuke's eyes focused on the flake of snow that shivered on his jeans and quickly melted away. He glanced back to the forest, where at least four inches of undisturbed snow lay in a thick blanket.

A few gears in his head turned and clicked together, his brows knotting together as he quickly stood up and yanked his gun to himself with a loud clank. Naruto and him had returned from the city at approximately seven o'clock, since the sun set shortly after. If his sense of time was accurate, the snow had begun to fall around midnight, in which Naruto had woken him up at two in the morning to start a snowball fight. They had fallen asleep at three, been woken up at four, and the sun was almost finished rising at seven A.M. Sasuke glared a bit more intensely at the snow in front of him, his nostrils flaring. No footprints. His eyes traveled along the border of the forest in his view. No footprints. Sasuke hoisted his gun and Kusanagi over his shoulder, quickening his steps away from his original location. He jogged around the premises of the camp, keeping to himself as to not scare the other guards. _No footprints._

Sasuke gazed at miles and miles of clean snow, unmarred and sparkling. There were no footprints. There were no Sector officials. There was no invasion.

The corners of his mouth tilted up in what seemed like the first time in years. The snow had deterred the tracking members from their own footsteps, covering them up and switching the directions of the world. The officials _must _have turned back. There had practically been a blizzard. The snow had fallen straight down, without angle. Their vision was cut off to at most four feet in front of their tracking team. The officials didn't have any evidence to follow them now. They were safe.

Sasuke's chest swelled with pride and he immediately maneuvered on his heel to run back to the center of the camp. Naruto and his shifts were over already, anyway. Maybe even overtime. There was no point in protecting the camp anymore. The adults were most likely on their way, having collected and looted supplies for winters to come like this. Maybe they had picked up firewood as well, since the one in the center of the camp seemed to be infinitely burning until last night.

His glossy rifle and Kusanagi bounced and clanged against each other on his back, snow seeping into the gap of his boots and jeans when he lifted his foot out of the snow. His calf muscles were slightly damp, but he didn't care. Sasuke would finally dispel the prejudice against him inside this camp, and gone would be the scrutinizing looks of Tsunade and Neji. Gaara would finally stop sitting in a tree near him and Naruto to listen in on their conversation and he could speak to Naruto with his full potential. Kami, that's right, he had to tell Naruto, who would be bouncing off the walls to finally yell-

Sasuke's steps suddenly slowed to a dead stop. He stared at his black boots sunken into the snow, clumps of the fluffy substance stuck to the laces. He had passed the center of the camp a long time ago. The raven blinked heavily and raised his eyes, greeted by the sight of Naruto's back, napping in a chair about twenty feet in front of him.

He sighed and shook his head. Naruto was always doing something ridiculous. He stalked towards the blond and called his name. He didn't stir. Sasuke grabbed his formed shoulder and jolted Naruto's body hard enough to wake him up.

Naruto grunted the moment Sasuke shoved him forward, catching himself on the armrest and glancing up at him. The blond stood up and scrunched his eyebrows together, running a hand through his hair brushing snow off of his thighs.

"What was that for?" Naruto whined and tucked his hunting knife a bit further into its sheath.

"You were sleeping," Sasuke deadpanned and raised an eyebrow, running his thumb under the strap of his rifle to relieve some of the weight.

"No I wasn't," Naruto frowned. "I was thinking really hard."

Sasuke snorted. "Makes sense you didn't even move when I called your name. That doesn't happen up there a lot, does it?" he reached up to knock his fist against the blond's forehead.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "For your information, I _do _think about things a lot. "S why I'm not dead yet." He raised his hand, hesitated, and glanced at Sasuke. The blond shoved him to the side.

Sasuke regained his balance by heavily stepping forward only once and continuing his relaxed stroll. The blond had shoved him with his left hand to Sasuke's right, uninjured shoulder. Rather than thinking of a reply, he was slightly moved by Naruto's consideration – though it might have only been caused by his own provocation. Either way, it silenced Sasuke and he found it slightly… endearing.

They continued to stroll side by side for a few moments, in a comfortable silence only interrupted by their breathing and the soft crunches of snow. Sasuke jolted when he nearly forgot to tell the blond about his discovery. His chest swelled with pride once again, his words pushing on his ribcage with the urgency of breathing. If he couldn't tell Itachi to make him proud, he'd tell Naruto. The raven planned out his whole speech and its details. Approximately two minutes, maybe running a bit overtime with Naruto's jabber in between and his own snarky comments. First, he'd start out by asking Naruto if he had noticed any-

"The officials aren't going to come," Sasuke blurted. His chest immediately relaxed and his thoughts slowed down, though he cursed himself in his mind for his loose lips. Perhaps they were yet another thing that he had picked up from Naruto.

"What?" Naruto said, glancing at his friend. "Sorry, I completely spaced out. Didn't hear what you said."

Sasuke almost sighed in relief. "It's okay," he muttered and cracked his knuckles. "I was just asking you if you had seen a Katon or something."

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched together and he rubbed his chin with his fingers. "I was gonna say something about that. I saw nothing. Literally _nothing_, 'Sas. Well, besides an owl and a few squirrels… no people or those damn robots. It was pretty cool."

"I didn't get anything, either. It's weird. That leads me to the next thing I was going to talk about." Sasuke paused, not wanting to bust out in a long lecture about his observations. "I know the officials aren't coming because the snow covered our tracks back here. There were no footprints this morning," he pointed to where Shino had self-assigned himself into Naruto's old spot. "Not even animal tracks."

The blond moved in front of Sasuke so that he was walking backwards, a blank expression meeting a skeptical one. "How d'you know they didn't smooth the snow over or some shit?"

He almost rolled his eyes. "Then you'd see hand prints, dumbass. Fresh snow looks like fresh snow. Not that hard to figure out."

Naruto shook his finger in the raven's face. "No need for those extra bullets, dude. I get it."

Sasuke hated to minimalize something he was proud of, but he guessed it would have to be like that. He didn't want Naruto any more riled up than he already was. Maybe he would tell Ino in some grand way.

"But you think they're not coming tonight?"

"They won't come now or throughout the day, at least. And there's always the possibility that they never even picked up on our tracks."

"That's right!" Naruto yelled and returned to Sasuke's side. "And if they do, we'll beat the shit outta 'em!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke grumbled, eyeing the camp quarters for a long blonde ponytail. He had to shake his head to keep himself from looking for a black bob of hair. Hopefully, Itachi would be back within the next few days to hear Sasuke's observations and accomplishments. Maybe then his brother would stop worrying about him so much.

The raven ignored Naruto's idle chatter in favor of craning his neck over the thin congregation of bodies near the dead bonfire. He saw a tiny, ragged white ponytail from Suigetsu and of course the mop of golden blond hair beside him, but no Ino. Sasuke double took when Akamaru stood up on his hind legs and towered over Kiba, who patted his stomach like an ape and threw his head back in raucous and prideful laughter. His left eyebrow twitched in annoyance. So much for laying low.

The group greeted Naruto and he once they passed by, telling them to stay and play a few games like Simon Says. They were just about to celebrate last night's record of no invasion, an overwhelming amount of paper plates stacked nearly as tall as him next to a wild assortment of ice chests. Sasuke quickly rejected the offer, Naruto responding a bit more slowly to loyally stay by Sasuke's side. This is how it was these days, he thought to himself. No Naruto or no Sasuke. _"Where's Naruto _and _Sasuke?" _he heard being said more often. They were like a package, inseparable and undeniable. It was both a gift and a curse, but alone time around here was now dangerous.

Sasuke finally spotted Ino the farther they went into the camp, conversing with Neji and Shikamaru standing closely behind her in front of the gun barrel. It was an odd formation, as Neji and Ino were the only two talking – it was almost as if Shikamaru were guarding her. He didn't ignore the fact that Neji's hand was resting firmly on the .20 PMR nestled into his holder while he leant nonchalantly towards Ino with the other on the rusty artillery barrel. Shikamaru made eye contact with him and they shared a mutual look of suspicion, then nodded to Naruto. From this distance, their conversation looked casual, but as they came closer, Sasuke noticed the tense height of Neji's shoulders and the wrinkle in between his brows. Shikamaru was clearly an unwelcome presence to him.

"Ino," the raven called, his firm voice easily travelling to her. She turned away from Neji and cast a curious glance to the two, taking a few steps forward to meet them halfway. Neji automatically turned with her, including himself in the small circle they made. His hair was oily and his lip slightly curled when Naruto came into the circle, obviously unappreciative of his presence. Fortunately, Naruto's attitude had hunkered down into the serious one Sasuke found very useful – it was very rare to see him ready to get down to business. His scarred face was stoic and his pale eyebrows only slightly drawn together, his back straight and shoulders squared.

"Hey, guys," she sighed tucked a piece of her bangs behind her ear. "I was just about to go ask you for your oral reports and then sleep."

"I think you should sleep now," Shikamaru mumbled, glancing off into the camp and shifting his weight to one foot. The boy looked more alert than Sasuke was familiar with, maybe even a bit more impatient. He dragged his eyes away from the tan boy and back to Ino.

"Shut up. You ready to give the reports? How was it on the west side?"

"Nothing happened at all," Naruto said. "Only sounds I heard were owl hoots and squirrels. That's really all."

Ino nodded and crossed her arms. "Weird they didn't ambush then or there." She nodded at Sasuke. "East?"

"Nothing at all, either," he mumbled, attempting to keep his eyes glued to Ino's icy blue ones. "I made a few important observations, though."

Her arms immediately dropped and she leant into Sasuke. "I'm all ears. What are they? What grade would you give their importance?"

"A plus," he said, nearly caught off guard. "It's good news. Naruto and I came back from the city approximately from seven to eight P.M. The sun had almost finished setting then," he glanced to Naruto for clarification, who nodded. "and we got back by the time it had finished setting to inform you."

"I don't think I see where you're going," Ino raised her eyebrow and tilted her head down.

"I'm not finished yet," he said, vexed. "You started assigning guards by at least ten P.M. That's three hours of a window they had to follow us, but they didn't. The snow started falling at midnight-"

"I can root for that," Shikamaru cut in. "Chouji woke me up from a nap then."

Sasuke nodded. "It was already too thick to uncover our tracks by 2 A.M. At 4 in the morning, there was no suspicious activity accounted for, right?"

"Sakura and Hinata said no," Ino wondered aloud. "What's your point?"

"I'm getting there," he repeated and tilted his body towards Naruto. "6 to 7 A.M. today, there were still no tracks from the officials. What I'm saying is that, even if they uncovered them, they _can't _follow our tracks. They're completely gone. The snow covered our trails and probably masked out our scents from their hounds."

There was a heavy pause between the three that hadn't known this information. Naruto hummed in agreement.

Ino glared at the ground, and then at Sasuke. She stared at him and he swore he could hear the gears turning and clicking in her brain as she glanced to the forest and at their feet. Her face softened only a few degrees from the unbelieving glare she had been giving the raven, now turned into an awed one. "Sasuke…" she said. A nearly vulnerable look washed over her face and she glanced to Shikamaru, whose brows were knotted as he stared at the ground.

He looked Sasuke straight in the eyes, his mouth taut and his mind working. "You're not the only one to notice this?"

"Well…" Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "I'm the only one to _notice _it, but I've got a witness."

The blond nodded. "I was up at those times, too."

"And it's not too hard to check the forest for footprints," Sasuke added. He could feel the glare Neji was sending down to him, continuously and seriously.

Shikamaru turned to Ino again and nodded. "Sasuke," Ino murmured, sighing in relief. "You're a _genius_."

There was that word thrown at him again. It wasn't as satisfying as hearing it come out of his brother's mouth was. Itachi complimenting him certainly felt better than a compliment anyone else could ever give him, for sure. At least she had believed him.

"Thank you so much," she pulled him in for a firm, short hug that he didn't reciprocate. "we have to tell the others now. They'll all be so relieved. Do you want to be anonymous?"

He tossed his eyes to the side in thought and nodded. If the word were to get around, Sasuke wanted to be the one to tell Itachi. He saw Naruto raise his eyebrows in the corner of his eye and resisted sending the blond an irritated look.

Neji scoffed. "But how do we know that we can trust him?"

"Like I said," Sasuke bit out. "It's not too hard to check the snow for footprints."

The boy glared at him and looked back to Ino, who had already started making her way to the center of the camp to inform the rest of the members. Neji shook his head and stomped after her, a moderate chunk of his hair getting tangled in his gun holster.

Sasuke and Naruto shared a look before rushing after her as well, Shikamaru releasing an exasperated sigh as everyone exercised once again. Seemed like he could never get a moment of peace around here these days. The boy trudged after the rest of them, his short ponytail drooping along with his shoulders.

When he got closer to the camp center, Chouji was lugging the variety of ice coolers and plastic utensils to the bonfire. There was a quiet hum of chatter among the goers. Ino was visibly confused as she glanced around the circle, making sure that Shino and Konohamaru were on guard. Sasuke watched as she set her foot on top of a sitting log and her hamstring muscle bulged when she lifted herself onto it. Ino glanced around and set two fingers in her mouth, emitting a high whistle. The chatter instantly died down as the camp members turned towards Ino, not expecting any sort of announcement.

Ino stepped down from the log and motioned for everyone to gather in an unorganized circle. "Today, I got some great news from someone," she smiled to herself and looked into the sky, obviously resisting giving Sasuke away.

"Sasuke and Naruto came back at eight last night. Ten last night I started giving guard times," she started and set her hands on her hips. "Midnight, the snow came down. Anyone wanna take one for the team and guess what I'm gonna say?"

Silence. Sasuke could sense the rusted gears quivering in a few members' heads, but not yet moving. Naruto snickered to himself next to him, and the raven nudged him gently. If anyone, he counted on Sakura to figure it out first. But if things were moving at this pace around here, he wouldn't be surprised if the dog figured it out first.

Ino rolled her eyes and continued. "Scratch that. If the Sector officials didn't come tracking Sasuke and Naruto right after they left the city, what other change did they have? Think about it. It's midnight, the snow's coming down really hard, and within two hours there's this thick ass blanket of it," she kicked some snow to the side. "This morning and the snow in the forest is clear of footprints except for those of animals."

A universal shock of silence fell over the group, some friends turning to each other and sending unbelieving books.

A hand went up and Shino spoke out. "Have you inspected the woods? They could be travelling by trees."

"And with no footprints inside the camp from where they would have landed?" Ino countered, raising her eyebrows at him as he let his hand fall to the side. "Yeah. It's all clear, guys. There's no tracks to follow or scents to find."

Some complicated handshakes were made among the crowd and a few sighs of relief were heard. For the most part, it remained silent and worry-free as a weight lifted off the occupants' shoulders. Tenten advised that they should, however, still remain on guard if the officials unexpectedly passed through. It was unlikely, but they were still in the area and no risks were worth being taken.

An unspoken agreement fell upon them that it was time to celebrate. Chouji finished unstacking the ice chests from atop another, placing them in a semi –circle around what used to be the bonfire for choosing convenience and pointing out the ones he believed that had beef, chicken, or pork. Sasuke noticed that they had lined up by age, with Neji and Lee starting the line and Gaara ending it. It seemed that Chouji had taken the role of serving, as he impatiently ripped open the saran wrap cover from a packet of paper plates.

Naruto and Sasuke stood slightly away from the group, observing them with Shikamaru and Ino and patiently waiting for the ruckus to go down.

"Hey, when's your birthday?" Naruto asked from beside him.

"You're forgetting things easily," Sasuke replied and shifted his weight to his left foot. "July twenty-third."

"Ah!" Naruto smacked his palm against his forehead and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm only running on two hours of sleep…"

"And I wonder why that is," he snapped and raised an eyebrow. Naruto simply stuck his tongue out at him and crossed his arms. Sasuke turned back to the odd formation their group had made, Chouji finally finished opening utensils and handing them to Neji. The large boy picked up a pair of metal tongs and waved them at Neji. He bent over the first red cooler and pried open the Styrofoam cover, glancing inside and furrowing his eyebrows.

"This must've been the beef stew from last month…" Chouji mumbled, pushing the cooler behind him and moving to the next one. Sasuke vaguely remembered Naruto shoving that exact stew down his throat, smirking when Naruto's elbow bumped his shoulder as he scratched the back of his head.

Chouji opened the next cooler and froze when he witnessed that there was nothing in it. "I think this was the beef we finished off last week," he said to Ino and pushed the cooler behind him again. Neji's eye visibly twitched as he dropped his plate and leant over to the third cooler, yanking the cover open and glancing inside.

Neji reached his hand inside the cooler and let yellow sand sift through his fingers when he brought it back out. "What the hell is going on?" Neji growled, unamused when Chouji ignored him and opened the next cooler.

Chouji overturned the cooler and a mound of sand poured out from the container. He dropped the tongs and knocked over the next carrier before opening it again, quickly moving to the next one at the sight of more sand.

Naruto jogged to Chouji, gently popping out the opening of the next container and furrowing his brows at the sight of tightly-packed sand inside. The blond heaved the box up and dumped it out, a cloud of dust forming in front of him and the feet of others. "What the fuck…" he said to himself, staring at the thin sand and dropping the container. "What is this?"

Sasuke was suddenly in front of him, crouching to his right and holding his hand out. Naruto tossed Sasuke his Jericho and leaned down next to him, watching as the raven poked the sand with the butt of the gun. Next to them, Sakura had dumped even more sand clean out of the containers and the only thing that filled their ears was the loud rush of sand onto snow.

"This looks familiar…" Naruto grumbled and held a handful of the pale grains.

"It does." Sasuke refrained from touching the stuff at all. He racked his mind to remember where he had seen this specific color and texture of sand before, scowling and glancing to the blond.

"It's…" Naruto called out and looked up. Now they were surrounded by an odd circle of sand, at least a foot tall. "This is training sand…"

Naruto shut his eyes and a vision of hundreds of bare feet running through this exact sand filled his mind, the sky nearly white with sun above them. There were grunts of pain and hisses and curses as their sensitive heels hit the searing sand, the moment they begun to slow down and experience the pain for even longer being dreaded by all of them. Naruto barely recovered from the burns as soon as he lifted his foot out of the sand. He knew he had blisters on the bottom of his feet, he could feel the sand moving around them and throbbing each time he landed again. It was horrible. He wouldn't be able to walk or run correctly for the next two weeks, and all his platoon were issued was a pathetic tube of burn ointment each. They were too young to understand how to use it, too innocent to take care of themselves…

"I remember," Ino growled and kicked a container to the side, stomping in the sand and sending it flying onto Naruto's boots. "This is fucking _Sector_ sand." She plopped down onto the ground beside Shikamaru, resting her face in her hands.

"What do you mean?" Shino called out, slowly approaching the rest of the group and picking up a handful of the grains. He immediately dropped it once he caught sight of dead pieces of skin.

"You weren't in the same platoon as Naruto and I," she explained, staring at the blond from under her hands. "They made us run through this shit in the middle of Five's fake desert. Told us it would teach us the lessons of diligence and speed. It hurt _so_ much…"

"I remember," Naruto grumbled and tossed the sand to the side, standing up and shaking his leg to rid of the stuff.

Shikamaru lifted his head, a bored look in his eyes as his lips pulled taut. "They took our food."

"Nice observation," Neji snapped, Lee setting a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head.

"Sasuke, Naruto," Shikamaru called and nodded his head. They both approached him slowly, watching as he bent over to tap Ino on the shoulder so she would stand up.

"It seems I found the fault in your plan of systems," Shikamaru murmured to Sasuke and glanced to the side, making sure that nobody was eavesdropping. "Sorry to ruin the party."

"But there was no breaking and entrance," Naruto crossed his arms and set his face into a skeptical look. "How could this have happened?"

At that moment, Neji loomed over the four of them and butted into their conversation yet again. Shikamaru made quick and meaningful eye contact with Sasuke, an unspoken agreement coming between the two.

"What the hell is going on?" Neji growled, a vein in his forehead jutting out as he glared from Sasuke to Ino.

Shikamaru cast his eyes to the ground and pursed his lips. "Let me think."

"Haven't we already done enough thinking?" Ino whispered and covered her forehead with her hands. "We were five steps ahead, and they've still outdone us. They're Sectors. We can't do this…"

"Yes we can," Naruto said firmly and set a hand on her shoulder. "We made it this far, didn't we? What's the point of stopping now?"

"Don't you _see_, Naruto?" she growled and wrung her wrists. "They trapped us. They took our food and water. Now we're their pet fish and they're just tapping the glass of our bowl. We walked straight into their game…"

Sasuke froze as he heard what they were saying. _Itachi? _Was Itachi okay? Had he been caught by the officials? Where _was _he? He wished he had someone to ask where Itachi was. His brother was always by his side, ready to answer any question Sasuke had. He had gotten used to it. Itachi had spoiled him with knowledge of every and which kind. Now, standing nearly alone with his only other family member in this _world _having a fifty percent chance of being _dead_, Sasuke felt clueless. His brother had always been there for him, protecting him, watching him, and sacrificing bits and pieces of himself for Sasuke. Now Sasuke might be the only Uchiha on this planet, the other of his name being seized by a Sector he hated so much.

The other day was when Sasuke had last seen him. Be it only a few hours and being distracted by Naruto, Itachi hadn't inquired about his whereabouts and entrusted him to stay safe. The next day, Sasuke put himself in the utmost danger without informing him. The other day might have been the last time Sasuke would _ever_ see his brother. The other day might have been the last to get any more valuable knowledge from his brother, but he didn't regret reading up on sexuality as the subject was too sensitive to bring up with Itachi. Itachi would have excused it and told Sasuke to focus on his iron levels, eat this, not that, and sheltered him once again.

But if that was the last time Sasuke would ever see his dear brother, he would seek revenge. It was about time someone put an end to the nonsense of the Sectors, and it would be him. The possibly last Uchiha's name would be remembered, and it would be remembered in honor.

"They must have slipped in… what were we doing at eleven P.M. last night?" Shikamaru asked Ino, suppressing the urge to sigh at her anger.

"Guards had already been set up by then," she replied and took a deep breath.

"Who was guarding?"

Ino reached into her back pocket and pulled out a paper, unfolding it and glancing at the guards. She tossed it to the side. "Great. That was my rough draft before everyone switched the hell around. I trusted myself to memorize it, but now I can't. Of course this would fucking happen," she growled.

"It's fine," Shikamaru patted her back and glanced to Neji. "Did you witness anyone guarding at that time?"

Neji cast his pale eyes up into the gray sky and shook his head. In the window of time it took for Neji's eyes to move from Shikamaru to the sky, time slowed down for Sasuke and he remembered Neji yelling at them to quiet down at eleven P.M. He nudged Naruto roughly and they shared an intense look, Sasuke glancing back to Neji.

Neji was staring straight at them, going unnoticed by Shikamaru and Ino who had turned to face Naruto and Sasuke. Neji's face had gone completely blank, his head tilted back as he looked down at them through his nostrils and his right hand on the caliber of his gun once again.

"N-no," Naruto stuttered and snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts. The raven's chest filled with a sensation of impending doom as he tore his eyes away from Neji and placed them on Shikamaru. The long-haired boy didn't bother to look away from Sasuke, his stare burning the front of his neck and making Sasuke's forehead heat up.

"Damn," Shikamaru whispered and set his fingers on his chin. "Sasuke, it seems like your plan was somewhat of a foreshadowing of this."

"You were right about the erasing of tracks and footprints, but not ours. If we started assigning roles at ten P.M. and the first guard was to be slacking off… the officials came in unnoticed right before the snow started to fall. The snow didn't erase you and Naruto's steps, but instead it erased the officials' steps. They snuck in and out right under our noses so we couldn't track them back. We're being sabotaged."

"But that must have happened in under thirty minutes," Sasuke breathed and furrowed his eyebrows. "How…"

Shikamaru shook his head sadly, his forehead wrinkled. "Their abilities are far past what we have," he murmured and set a hand on Ino's shoulder again. "Assuming they have the adults in custody… we walked right into their trap."

"But…" Naruto held out his hand and stared at Sasuke. "We can still fight, _right_? We can't give up!"

"Naruto, shut up!" Ino snapped. "There's no point in this whole 'fighting' business anymore! We lasted out here for ten years, and that's all we're going to get. Fate put this in front of us. Maybe it was Kami's plan the whole time, but nobody's meant to live out here. Look at us. We're cornered with barely enough weapons to safely arm everybody. The Sectors outreach our standards. Even if we fought…"

"I think we can fight," Sasuke agreed. "Who's to say that they're _not_ in custody, my brother's not somewhere near us, and Kabuto's safe and strong enough to be tracking them right now?"

"All of you stayed the damn same as you were in kindergarten," Ino grumbled and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. "All you guys ever wanna do is fight."

"I was a logical child," Sasuke put in, acknowledging that she was speaking to the other three boys.

"And you still are, Sasuke," she said and sighed. "Thank you."

Sasuke's lips upturned ever so slightly and he nodded. "So now what?"

"Now," Naruto cut in and picked his Jericho up from a pile of sand. "Now we make a plan." He looked to Sasuke again.

"Someone go get Konohamaru," Sasuke barked behind them, knowing that the boy was sleeping in a plastic chair not too far away. He turned his head as he counted their total population. "There's fifteen of us, sixteen if you count that dog."

"We'll guard in pairs in case half gets sabotaged," Shikamaru reasoned. "I'll remember to assign everyone by the one they work with the best. Of course Sasuke and Naruto are fighting together, as well as Neji and Hinata. Both Sasuke and Neji fight better in long distance battles than their partners. Hinata and Naruto fight better in close distance, as Hinata and Naruto's self-defense and attacks are complicated. Place yourselves ten feet apart from each other."

They nodded to each other and turned back to the group, which had broken out in their own rampage. Naruto managed a loud catcall that disturbed the crowd into silence more than caught their attention.

Shikamaru stood up on a log again, placing his hands in his pockets and lazily drooping his shoulders. "Our theory was close enough to what's actually going on. Long explanation short, the officials snuck in and out before the snow had fallen, masking their tracks. Without any food and water, there's no means for us to survive by. Tonight, we fight. We fight in pairs I have already assigned and you're to stand ten feet apart from each other. Understood?"

Without waiting for a proper response, Ino placed herself in front of Shikamaru and begun barking out orders. "Sakura and Sai," she yelled. "Go get your weapons as soon as you hear your partner. Shikamaru and Chouji. Kiba and Akamaru. Tenten and Lee. Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata and Neji. Konohamaru and I. Shino and Gaara. Go!"

An unorganized rush and bumping of too many shoulders, tripping over others' feet and curses were heard after that. Sasuke glanced over to Naruto. They were already safely armed, armed with much more than they would ever need.

"We're going to the forest entrance of the camp," Sasuke grabbed the blond's wrist and tugged him along.

"What?" Naruto yelled and jogged to keep up. "But that's where they'll come first! Are you sure-"

"I think you'll remember how to fight," Sasuke yelled back and ducked his head to bear his rifle. "I'll do all the shooting and you disarm them."

"Eh?" Naruto unsheathed his hunting knife and stood in an uncertain position in front of the forest, glancing inside as if there were to be monsters there. "I don't think I-"

"Stop it," Sasuke snapped and rolled his left shoulder, sliding his foot back into a defensive position and aiming his gun into the forest. "If Itachi comes back, I need to be the first one that he sees. Stop doubting yourself. You'll remember how to fight," he stared at Naruto to the right of him. "just like how you did in the forest when I shot Neji."

Naruto's face was wiped blank when he remembered that time in the forest. Sasuke truly believed that he would remember his military knowledge? The blond squeezed the ribbed wooden hilt of his knife and shut his eyes, falling into a firm stance that didn't allow his knife to be knocked out of his hand. "Okay."

"Step back," Sasuke called. "I'll stand closer to do the immediate killing. If they get past me, you deal with them."

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I'm staying here with you. They're all gonna come flooding through here, you know? You can't be the first one they see, even if it's just Itachi. He's gonna wonder why in the hell you're pointing a gun at him. We need to fight them off at the same time."

"I-"

"_We_," Naruto emphasized and held his hand out. "We're going to do this. You don't have to do it alone. I want to protect this camp too, and you can't always steal the spotlight," his intense look faded into a gentle one.

Sasuke was shocked into silence and he stared at Naruto once again, unconsciously nodding along to his calm words. He heard what Naruto was saying. The blond was right. He couldn't try to do everything on his own. Sometimes it took teamwork, Naruto was trying to say, and Sasuke needed to learn that.

Naruto stared at him, expecting an answer to his order. Sasuke sighed and relaxed his stance a bit, swallowing roughly and ignoring the numbness in his ears. He nodded.

"Got it?" Naruto called and held out his pinky finger. Sasuke had only seen these kind of things in the playground back when he was five.

Although he sent Naruto a strange look, he nodded. "Got it," he said and knotted his pinky finger with Naruto's warm one.

* * *

><p>AN: Hi, guys. Sorry for the late update again. My dog died and I didn't want to bring you guys down with the kind of writing I would have done. Anyway, what the hell is even going on? Sasuke's reading was revealed! Who do you guys think is dead or not, and what the fuck is up with Neji? Please drop a review, I need to know what you guys are thinking! Btw, this is the longest chapter so far - 9,091 words. Don't forget if you have any immediate questions, I'm on Tumblr and Twitter. See ya next week!


	17. Broken Bonds - Part I

Chapter 16: Broken Bonds - Part I

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><p>Naruto nodded and squeezed his pinky finger before sending Sasuke an intense look and releasing their hands. The blond fell back into a defensive position, knife held firmly in one hand and the other resting atop his Jericho.<p>

"We've got each other's backs, okay?" the blond said, maintaining their eye contact.

He nodded. Sasuke swallowed roughly and slowly loaded his rifle, casting a vulnerable glance towards the blond. It was always Naruto's words that never ceased to amaze him. The only other person he'd ever made a promise to was Itachi, and that was because his brother was the person he trusted most. Sasuke would take a risk for once, putting his safety in his best friend's hands and enforcing Naruto's own safety.

_This was the first step, right? This was the first step to truly liking someone, in a romantic way? _Sasuke thought to himself and pursed his lips when he noticed his palms were sweaty and beginning to slip on the metal of his gun. He licked his lips and discreetly opened his palms one at a time, allowing them to air out.

Itachi had told him never to be afraid. His brother had told him that taking a step towards strength was admitting weakness instead of nursing it like a wimp. Maybe he had predicted this in Sasuke, because he had given him a whole speech about their brotherhood and about how it was unchangeable and relentless. Itachi told him that he would always love him, no matter what. So Sasuke believed him and reluctantly stood up from where he had fallen flat on his face in his mind and escaped the camp to read.

A couple of days ago, Sasuke had made the final step in finding himself. He had already acquired so much from his friends and family, the outdoors and training. It was ever since Naruto came into his life that he felt confused – all of the mental and physical attributes. It irked him that he found the blond so passionate and caring, understanding and energetic, empathetic and protective of the ones he loved. To top it all off, Naruto was irritatingly handsome. Sasuke was _exhausted_ of feeling so confused – it was like running in circles, over and over again. Why did thoughts of Naruto plague his mind so often? Why was it so easy to hover around the boy and enjoy his presence, listen to him talk and watch his tanned face as Sasuke spoke?

If Sasuke couldn't figure it out himself, there were things as concrete as research and advice. He had sought out books on friendships, more than friendships, and a bit more than that. Living out here and deceiving the Sectors was a crime, so would liking another man be any worse than this situation already was?

But he was still confused. He guessed there was no helping that, this being his first interest in someone. It was odd that he never picked up an interest in Karin or Suigetsu, but Naruto held his own unique qualities. He emitted some warm _aura_ that set Sasuke's guard at ease and his body more relaxed rather than tense. It was protective and comforting to everyone around him, and it was both a blessing and a curse when the blond opened his mouth.

Naruto had taught him meaningful, albeit very few, lessons about a positive view in life. The boy would pick up a can of rotten vegetables, immediately drop it and suggest they hunt. He would glance at a store with its shelves ripped scarce and keep searching the city to make sure that they were warm and healthy. Naruto would fall off a building, hit his head so hard he forgot his own name, shatter multiple bones and nearly destroy his eardrum all before safely securing his friends. Naruto would lug an injured Sasuke over his shoulder and demand Karin to use her medical knowledge before sprinting to the nearest clinic. He had mind so quick, acquired from the military, to prioritize and secure others before himself. The boy had a will of searing fire, a desire to live and love to the fullest even though he was no more than an orphaned puppy eating scraps off the road; no wonder it had burned Sasuke, whom had scooted a bit too close to the warmth Naruto offered. But it was all so optimistic, even with their world in ruins like this. Sasuke wanted that desire, his drive, that point of view in life that made everything seem so wonderful. Maybe, if the idiot would take his aiding hands away from everyone's shoulders, he would glance at Sasuke and assist him in fulfilling his own selfish desires.

Sasuke was but an abandoned cub, without Itachi to hover over him. He wasn't dependent, but he didn't want to be alone in this world. Maybe his whole world would stop spinning, spun wildly by the Sectors and their robots and guards, if he looked at one person to rid himself of the dizziness. This person was certainly worth it. Naruto hadn't and Sasuke_ knew_ that he wouldn't let him down.

He breathed heavily but silently from his mouth, sucking in dry gasps of cold air that left his throat dry and burned his lungs. His eyes flickered from the woods to Naruto's stern and focused face. Sasuke couldn't concentrate, not in silence and subjected to his thoughts. He tried to glare into the woods, steadying his stance and attentively scoping the fine foliage. But that was the more aggravating part of this romance shit, Sasuke thought, as his thoughts kept directing to the blond's physique and strong jaw, blue eyes and characteristically wild hair. The back of his neck and ears seared once his thoughts screeched around a corner and he remembered a time when Naruto had spilled soup on his shirt and tossed it to a corner in their tent, revealing ridiculously formed shoulders and subtle muscles on his abdomen.

There he fucking went again. The looks were irresistible, something Sasuke had noticed from the very start. He wished Naruto would put his damn hood up. Out of sheer annoyance, he finally glared once and for all into the woods, ready to paint the bark with officials' brains once they entered.

In absolutely no way would these military men live on. Every single weapon and medallion adorning their uniforms they brought with them, Sasuke would destroy. No being that put his camp under such fear and alertness deserved to live any longer than the period of time the camp had been on high security. Sasuke would make sure to make his final strike vicious and efficient.

Suddenly, he could faintly hear a hum of voices within the woods. Just two of them. Sasuke tensed and Naruto's ears seemed to perk up from the corner of his eye, the blond's stance faltering in its firmness. Some loud rustling could be heard, obviously the movement of trees and a few _thumps_ that Sasuke guessed were trips on hidden roots under the snow.

"Hey…" Naruto picked up on the distinct voices more quickly than Sasuke did, failing to return to his defensive stance. He sent the blond an urgent look, hoping the idiot would return to the stance and wipe the vulnerability clean off his face.

The two voices were deep and unhurried and four series of footsteps could be distinguished from the heavy rustling of foliage. The closer they got, the more the low-hanging branches around them moved and the more recognizable their voices became.

Sasuke blinked and stepped back a bit, lowering his gun but wearily eyeing the woods. "Itachi…?" he called, furrowing his brows and hoping that he hadn't made a mistake.

The voices lulled in their leisurely conversation and a single boot was unveiled from the forest, followed by a familiar black pant leg and hunting shirt.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed, rushing forward to his little brother and setting his hands on narrow shoulders.

Itachi gently set his hand into soft spikes of hair and pulled his little brother's head under his chin, resting his head atop Sasuke's and breathing a sigh of relief. He squeezed Sasuke's back and nearly jumped when the hug was hesitantly returned, a light squeeze around his face and the warming of his chest from Sasuke's heavy breaths. A few muscles jumped in Itachi's jaw as he eyed the unkempt camp before him, ice coolers strewn over into sand and the shatters of reusable water bottles littering the floor. He closed his eyes and thanked Kami that she had kept his little brother safe while he was gone.

"I'm so glad that you're safe," Itachi murmured and pushed the teenager away from him, giving him a simple one-over to ensure that he was completely uninjured. He acknowledged that Kami wasn't the only factor in keeping Sasuke safe.

Sasuke nodded, chest warming with the attention and appreciation of Itachi's return. He opened his mouth to tell Itachi that, in fact, he had just gotten it off the other day, but quickly clamped his mouth shut once reality fell cruelly back onto him. His older brother released him from his embrace and turned to Naruto, exchanging a few calm greetings. Kabuto was revealed to be directly behind Itachi, his face detached and eyes bloodshot. There was a heavy-looking military grade duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Kabuto's short ponytail was matted in slosh and his face grimy with sweat, a few small holes torn into random areas of his cotton tee.

"I see you got your cast off," the silver-haired man said smartly, blinking heavily and glaring down at Sasuke.

"That's not important right now," Sasuke snapped, more fervishly than he had intended to. "There's m-"

Kabuto raised his hand so quickly that Sasuke nearly blocked it, realizing it was a gesture only a few seconds later. Kabuto had silenced him.

"Sorry, it's been a long day. About the officials, we already know," the man said and lowered his hand back to his side. "Shino already filled us in back in the woods. What the hell is he doing in a tree?"

Sasuke nodded hesitantly and completely lowered his gun, just now noticing that only Naruto stood with them now. They exchanged a look that spoke degrees about Kabuto's attitude and appearance, the automatic weariness that came along with him.

"Anyway," Kabuto removed his glasses and used the end of his shirt to clean the lenses. "Why don't we make our way to camp? I have a few announcements to make."

"We're on guard," Sasuke repeated and furrowed his brows. "I'm sure it won't be that hard to tell us right now."

"Trust me," Kabuto said and held his glasses into the sunlight, inspecting them and gingerly placing them on the bridge of his nose. "I've tracked five miles around this whole perimeter. There's no one out there."

"You can never be too safe," Naruto deadpanned and set his hand on his Jericho.

"He's right," another voice interrupted and Shino exited the woods. "There's no harm out there. I've been watching closely for a while now."

Sasuke sent Shino a strange look, one stuck between bewilderment and annoyance. He was definitely an odd character. Kabuto snorted and made a short gesture for all of them to follow him.

Naruto and Sasuke shared yet another look, hesitantly returning their weapons to their resting places and slowly turning to follow Kabuto. They followed him to the center of the camp, where only a few members were lounging or sleeping. Ino had begun to explain the depth of their situation to Itachi, pointing towards a few directions and people in the camp.

"So where are Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and Guy?" Itachi asked, glancing at the teammates flooding into the area.

Below him with his legs sprawled lazily and eyes glassed over, Konohamaru sighed explosively. "Didn't we just fucking say that we don't know where the hell they are?" the boy snapped, slitting his eyes up at Itachi.

"You absolutely _won't _speak to me like that," Itachi hissed.

"Stop it, both of you," Ino interrupted and crossed her arms. "Kabuto. It's nice to see you again, and I guess you're wanting an explanation for all of…" she glanced around and held her arms up. "well, this."

Kabuto raised his eyebrows. "Well, I was going to make a few announcements first," he replied. "but I do guess I need an explanation for what the hell is going on here."

Ino sighed and stepped closer to him. Sasuke glanced towards the mounds of sand on the ground, slightly spread like roots where someone had evidently played with it.

"We've already been invaded," she explained and boldly pointed toward the sand on the ground. "Long story short, we let our guard down and the military replaced our food with training sand."

Itachi grunted in surprise and furrowed his brows. "The one that they-"

"Yes," Kabuto interrupted and bent over to smooth his hand over one of the piles. "This definitely looks like it. But you're _sure _this wasn't a prank within the camp?"

"I don't know who would find that remotely funny," Ino snapped.

Kabuto looked as surprised as everyone else had once they discovered over half of their food had been replaced by sand. "That's odd… and here I thought I tracked thoroughly."

"It's been ten years since we've last seen the internal technology of the Sectors," Ino sent him a sad look. "I wouldn't be surprised if they've already identified us."

"I doubt that," Itachi cut in. "Were there any other issues? It was a bad time for us to leave," he sent Kabuto a light glare and crossed his arms.

"Only that. Like I told you, activity in the woods was scarce."

A short, comfortable silence fell over the small group as they watched member by member enter the small area where Kabuto's speech was to be made. Karin and Juugo situated themselves next to Sasuke, as most of the others stuck in their respective groups of three or four.

"Well," Kabuto shook his head, a gentle smirk sliding across his features. "I guess I brought the right news at the right time."

Kabuto looked around the congregation of the full camp, closing his eyes and smugly praising himself. Neji and Gaara had placed themselves on either side of Itachi, creating an inescapable barrier should the man try to flee from Kabuto's reins. He almost snorted as Itachi sent his little brother a pathetically endearing look.

He guessed Itachi had not chosen to say goodbye. The man probably didn't even understand what he was getting himself into. It was too easy for Kabuto to blackmail Itachi, too easy to tie Itachi to his imaginary strings and control him like a puppet. It was almost _too _easy, Kabuto sneered, but Sasuke played too important of a role in Itachi's life for him to risk. The man was truly and sadly dedicated to his family. He should have known by now that it was every man for himself out here.

Sasuke watched Naruto's eyebrows furrow as Kabuto pulled a strange, sleek white item out of the bag on his shoulder, no bigger than his palm. It was glossy and resembled a rounded square, dully pulsing an electric blue at irregular intervals.

"That looks like-"

"It's not a Katon," the man said calmly. "and it's not an Identifier."

Sasuke craned his neck to get a closer look while everyone seemed to cram into a circle. He and Naruto stumbled a few steps closer, the blond almost bumping into Kabuto's shoulder. The item… it roused Sasuke's suspicion more than what he was comfortable with.

"I'm sure within the past few years, you all have had campfire stories about the legendary military checkpoints," Kabuto briskly said, an air of extreme and professional authority about him.

Naruto vaguely recalled Kakashi mentioning those things. They were like safe houses, he remembered, or like an evict's haven. Abandoned and unpatrolled due to the government's beliefs that their security was still working fine after ten years of idle activity.

Kabuto coughed gently into his hand. "I'll be completely straightforward. This," he bobbed his hand in the air to show off the sleek white object to his audience. "is something I tracked and unearthed from the government. It holds the information of _all _military checkpoints, including an automatic GPS to them."

An air of disbelief more than surprise fell over the group. "The hell are you trying to say?" Suigetsu yelled from his lazy position on the ground, chewing on a piece of straw. Sasuke sent him no more than an irritated glance, truly engrossed in where Kabuto was heading with this.

Kabuto's lips twitched in an annoyed grimace and he glared down at the boy. "I'll _show _you all what I'm trying to say. Prepare yourselves."

The man held his palm up once again and gently tapped the device. It immediately rang a number of notes and volumes, like hollow wind chimes against each other. He flipped it over to reveal a glossy black screen awakening, a small green dot blinking in the middle of a web of other straight and curved lines. Once the screen was finished loading, it quickly zoomed out and loaded the terrains around them, numbers flying by at the bottom of the screen. They were miles, statistics, longitude and latitude, coordinates, and for Kami's sake there was _today's date_ - February twenty-ninth. Sasuke's face went slack in awe. He hadn't known the date for the past ten years of his _life_.

Ino gasped. "My… my birthday… it passed… I'm seventeen?"

"And I'm eighteen," Shino murmured, his eyebrows softly knit together. "This is…"

"I can't believe my youth is over…" Lee whispered from the back of the crowd.

A soft sniffle was heard at their feet. Naruto glanced down, almost regretting that he did – his heart squeezed in empathy at the sight of Konohamaru burying his face in his arms. "I'm fourteen?"

Ino gave the boy a watery smile and crouched to wrap an arm around his shoulder, kissing his forehead and petting his air. "We're all older than we thought."

"Well spoken," Kabuto inclined his head. "Today is my birthday. Technology is a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

It really was, Sasuke thought, almost tempted to reach out for it and touch it.

Itachi's blood boiled in his veins, his head becoming hot and his heartbeat rising to his ears. Gaara and Neji had trapped him – trapped him from giving any sort of warning about the device and its uses. Kabuto was a truly _sick _man, he thought, willing enough to bring something as innocent as a birthday into the picture of his actual plan. The man worked with only his own mind and nothing else, which was a paradoxical cavern of orders and favors, a relentless one that didn't forgive and blamed the nearest being by when something didn't go his way. Itachi hated to admit it, but Kabuto was a mastermind – to travel with this group for over ten years and never rouse any questions about his loyalty towards it. He had discreetly recruited Neji and Gaara as he noticed their disinterest with the group, their slight rebelling with the group's decisions, and their own harsh wills.

Kabuto had intricately and discreetly formed his plan, working behind the scenes as he travelled and stealing rather than gaining Sector information. He could so ruthlessly destroy someone from the inside out, finding their most precious reason to be alive and dangling it over their heads to follow Kabuto into the darkness. He was a puppeteer, who controlled everyone and everything but had nothing to lose but his own life. Kabuto had dangled the undoing of Sasuke over Itachi's head, leading him into his plan and smirking all throughout his pain. He was a professional sadist, a madman with the right people to support his views.

"On to the more important matters," Kabuto chided. "These dots here," he pointed to three blue dots arranged in a triangle around them, scaled miles and miles away from where they currently were. "these are checkpoints. We are the green dot."

The man cleared his throat slightly, the device's light flickering in his palm. "What I'm saying is that… we don't have to keep running from the military. We can outsmart them. We can live right under their noses, inside one of their old checkpoints, unbothered. We can survive there for the rest of our lives and never be bothered."

Ino stood up from her crouch beside Konohamaru, tilting her head and inspecting Kabuto's face carefully. "What will we do there?"

The edges of Kabuto's lips turned up and he returned his hands to his sides, giving her an endearing look, one that might be passed between two lovers. He looked at her like a child who didn't understand the simplest of things. "What we've always wanted to do," he murmured. "Live."

A brief veil of silence fell over the group, some turning to each other and furrowing their eyebrows. None of them were cold in their huddled positions. What Kabuto said – the way he had said it – it stroked Naruto the wrong way, rousing something in the back of his mind.

"But what are we doing?" the blond spoke up, throwing a hand up. "Aren't we living out here?"

"You're right, Naruto. We are living out here," Kabuto replied and nodded to him. "But we're living as products of fear and danger. None of you have properly experienced what safety feels like, how to relax for good without worrying about where you are. Some of you already have grey hairs, and by _my_ means…" he sighed and shook his head. "for children, that is unacceptable. You all deserve to live out the rest of your teen years."

Ino snorted and shook her head, crossing her arms with an incredulous look coming upon her face. "I'm sorry, Kabuto, but what you're saying… it seems like we're going to be doing _exactly_ what we're doing right now, just indoors."

Kabuto's head snapped back to her. "How many times does it take-" he held his hand up, recovering from the break of his temper and closing his eyes. "We will live without fear and being targeted. There's no chance of us dying behind closed doors."

"I know I may look it, Kabuto, but I'm anything but a child," Ino snapped. "I personally believe that we're going to end up dead anyway. What if someone gets sick and it rounds the whole group? What if someone changes their mind and completely murders us all? There's not enough canned and frozen food to feed us for the rest of our lives, Kabuto. I'm sorry, but…" she held up her hands and stepped back from the group. "This seems pointless and too risky. I feel like we're living a good life out here."

Neji scoffed and turned his body to her, curling his lips and shaking his head. "You call this the _good life_? Did we not just spend the past two days guarding for assholes that would never come because you're too fucking _paranoid_, and are we not all on a maximum of four hours of sleep?"

"There's a thing called naps, you ass," Konohamaru stood up, his face slightly swollen and red from where tears had trailed down his hidden face. Neji was a full head or more taller than him, with muscles that could beat Konohamaru's any day. "Maybe you should fuckin' take one."

"I don't need advice from a fourteen-year-old," Neji said, his face calm. "I don't expect you to understand, anyway. You follow us around like we're your parents and mooch off of our supplies, whining when you don't get to sleep half of the day away. I don't know where the_ hell_ you got this mindset from when we're living in the middle of fucking nowhere with barely enough food to go around!"

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?" Naruto yelled and stepped into the circle, an arm's length away from Neji and in front of the young boy. "Is it that hard to deal with other's opinions if they're not your own?"

"I wouldn't expect a dumbass like you to understand, either," Neji spat, scowling and baring his teeth. His pale irises swallowed his pupil, giving away no emotion or thoughts. "All you do is depend on others, especially Uchiha over there."

The back of Naruto's neck and ears scorched as he avoided glancing at Sasuke, who had made no interference whatsoever. However, his friend wouldn't break up the fight, and he already knew that. Ino put both of her hands on either of their chests, opening her mouth to tell them to calm down-

"Why do you think you're the best one around here, you fucking brat!" he retorted and clenched his fists. "At least I don't let anyone _down_. You let Hinata down every fucking _day_, and she's your damn c-"

"Neji!" a high pitched, female voice yelled.

A vicious bark was heard, Akamaru attempting to bound into the circle they all had formed. Kiba held the huge canine by the scruff of his neck, ordering him to back down and stay. He was digging his heels into the earth, using all of his weight to hold Akamaru back. The dog growled heartily, sending a shiver over the majority of the group.

Naruto blinked. He was on his back, a heavy weight constricting his chest and another on his throat, laboring his breaths. He glanced above him, the furious face of Neji parallel to his and pale eyes staring into his own. There were veins prominent in his forehead, though his skin remained unblemished. Naruto hadn't noticed, but his wrists were chambered right above Neji's face, his biceps straining with the force of the other's strength.

The blond was struggling to hold Neji's arm away from his head, his own hunting knife wavering less than an inch away from his forehead. Naruto grunted as his instincts set in, to defend himself and protect the others from this danger. He rolled Neji's wrist into his dominant hand, using his left to fumble for one of Neji's fingers. He used his thumb to roughly detach the other's index finger from the rubber handle of his knife, quickly arranging his own fingers and turning his fist-

Neji yelled in pain, a heavy snap jarring Naruto's hand and the knife away from his forehead. He twisted his head as the knife clattered against the ground, loosening his hand to let Neji's broken index finger free. It had happened in a matter of seconds – to everyone else, Naruto had merely raised his hand. It seemed like minutes to him.

Neji growled and raised his opposite hand again, preparing to bury his fist in Naruto's face. The blond scooted away from him, towards the rushing of feet behind him as everyone expanded the circle. Another dainty hand cupped the other's fist in midair, Neji's face flickering between rage and confusion.

Hinata placed her other hand on her cousin's shoulder, grimly observing his features. "That's enough, Neji," she said, her body leaning over his to capture his fist.

His face twitched and he tried to shake off her hand to no avail. The years of self-defense and physical training Hinata's father had put them through easily matched Hinata's strength to his – but he couldn't hurt her.

"Let go of me," Neji growled and attempted to shrug her hand off his shoulder. He glanced behind him, immediately snapping his head the other way once he saw her eyes. Those same eyes they shared were glassy, filled with sadness, and worst of all, _disappointment_.

Neji glanced around himself, to his right, where Sasuke was in the midst of helping Naruto up, Karin ready to check his throat. His left, where Shikamaru had hurriedly yanked Ino out of the way when he dove at Naruto. His hands were still gripped on either of Ino's arms, the blonde staring at him with obvious shock written all over her face. Finally, over the faint sounds of Naruto's wheezing and the baritone of Sasuke's voice, he fixed his eyes in front of him.

Kabuto stood with his feet shoulder width apart and a hand on the gun in his belt. "I see," he said, observing the faces around him. "You're weak, Neji. Stand up."

Sasuke watched this all with a face as straight as stone, standing slightly in front of Naruto. He watched as Neji seemed to obey Kabuto's order, placing his fist on the ground to rise into a kneel and slowly into a stand. He could feel a final, unspoken division between the camp members, a certain and tense static running through the air as everyone stared at the brunet in disbelief.

Kabuto sighed heavily and shut his eyes. "This wasn't how things were supposed to happen, but…" he said, annoyance dripping into his voice. "I guess this is where we finally split."

"Split?" Sakura questioned and scowled.

"I see you all have victimized yourselves and chosen the weak way," Kabuto laughed gently and shook his head again. "Placing the blame on Neji when his actions were due to Naruto's provocation."

"He was standing up for me," Konohamaru interrupted, his voice merely a croak.

Sakura glared at the man. "At least we stand together."

Kabuto laughed again, shoulders quivering and covering his face with his hand. "I won't beat around the bush. Surround me, my members."

A hushed awe fell over the camp as Neji lowered his head and stood to Kabuto's left. Sasuke turned his head to make sure that Naruto stayed right where he was at. He glanced behind him, seeing nobody move.

Then he looked ahead again, watching Gaara stand beside Kabuto. His face went slack as Itachi was the last one to rise, slowly walking to the other man and evading all eye contact. They stood a team of four, Sasuke's blood feeling ice cold in his veins.

"I'm sorry to see that you all would rather live in misery, under the commanding words of a _woman_," Kabuto spat. "But we have chosen a different route of life, one that leads to true happiness and power," he announced and removed his handgun from his holster.

A few sharp exclamations of alarm were heard across the congregation.

"You're…" Ino shrugged Shikamaru's hands away from her arms, stepping forward once again to face Kabuto. "you're disbanding?"

"Abandoning," Gaara deadpanned.

"Gaara," Ino breathed, her face devastated. "Your fa-"

"Shut up!" he yelled, contrasting to his completely stony face. "There is no hope in this group. I've come to realize that true strength lies in the Sectors and only the Sectors. Join us or stay living in this pathetic state."

Naruto's head throbbed, scowling and raising a hand to his temple. He felt _pain_, emotional pain, like a cold hand squeezing his heart and a grey mist shrouding his mind. He knew that he had been inseparable from Gaara in his life before this, and he knew that this was the subconscious ramification of their friendship in his mind. It was like he was sad, but didn't know why – like the sympathy pains of two twins.

"I don't pity any of you," Kabuto chuckled. "You're all too deep into your false, secure fantasy to even think about leaving one another." He dug into his bag, once again taking the white tracker out again. "I think we might be out of time," the man curled his lips.

He tossed Ino the tracker. She caught it, slightly fumbling with it due to her lack of understanding of what it was.

"I'm sure Nara knows the way signals work," Kabuto scratched his nose. "He's the only once with an ounce of hope out of all of you. Maybe I'll see you in the custody of a Sector, maybe not. This is the final goodbye."

"You don't have to do this," Ino rasped. "not at all."

"You're right," the man replied boredly. "I chose to."

Sasuke stepped forward. "Itachi, how can you-"

His older brother didn't do as much as bare him a glance. "Don't make a scene."

"But we already have," Kabuto bantered. "Ah…" he snatched the device out of Ino's grip, tossing it over their heads. They all turned when a heavy thump didn't emit from the earth.

They all turned, straining to see who Kabuto had thrown the tracker to.

"Thank you," a deep, monotone voice said. "Go ahead and return to the headquarters. My team will take care of them."

Sasuke froze. His mind, which was going a hundred miles a minute at the sight of Itachi standing with Kabuto, came to a screeching stop as he stared at the figure in front of him.

_He swallowed heavily and planted his eyes on another man with strange markings on his face._

_"I'm sure there are other evicts out here," the man said slowly and turned his head to observe the city. His long white hair swished gently when he turned, some of its strands tangling in the wind and sticking to his navy uniform. "Other survivors."_

_"In here?" The read headed man held out his arms. "Do we track 'em or let 'em die?" he sleazed._

_The white-haired man tilted his head. "We'll kindly move out of their way," he stated. "For a bit."_

_"And then we'll take what we need," the man finished and smirked at Sasuke. The man set a hand on the classic revolver at his hip and pressed a button on his uniform, holding it up to his mouth. "Portion J, scouted. Clear, vague signs of life." He cast his eyes back to his group. "Let's move. We've stopped too long."_

"'Sas, that's-"Naruto was cut off.

"Yes, Lord Kimimaro," Kabuto said and saluted the white-haired man. He turned, waiting for his lackeys to follow him into the opposite side of the woods. He raised his hand to his face, placing his nimble fingers on the frames of his glasses before tossing them to the side, one of the lenses popping out and gliding across the dewy grass.

Much to everyone's disbelief, Neji reached forward and snatched his cousin right off her feet. Hinata shrieked and attempted to push him away, but he immediately pressing one of her pressure points to render her unconscious. He carried Hinata in his arms, a fresh scowl on his face and his lip between his teeth.

At that moment, the members of the group reached a mutual agreement without him, for Sasuke's mind was somewhere else. Pure, unfiltered panic set into the camp and everything went into motion all at once. It was like his vision had turned into a vignette pinhole, zeroing in on Itachi. His quickened steps appeared to Sasuke like he was moving through gelatin, in slow motion. His short hair bobbed as he tucked a strand of it behind his ear, barely making eye contact with Sasuke – would he ever know if it meant something? To Sasuke, it spoke volumes – Itachi sent him a message that he didn't think he was able to decipher.

"Itachi!" he yelled, his field of vision seeming to turn red. His fisted hand rose to his stomach, his face forming into a pained grimace as he watched his big brother walk away from him. Suddenly, Sasuke was thrown into a momentary memory that sent his mind reeling.

_Sasuke was no older than six. It was early in the morning, right before they were both due to leave for school – sitting at their dining table and munching on the eggs their mother had cooked for them. Itachi checked his small superhero watch, stood up, and placed his dishes by the sink. _

"_Don't leave, Itachi!" Sasuke said, not wanting to face his mean commander of his division without some comforting from his brother._

"_I'm gonna be late," the brunet said sadly and shouldered his school bag. "I'll be back before you know it, Sasuke."_

"-achi!" Sasuke caught himself yelling again. His vision returned to normal and his brother quickly snapped his head around, running away from the camp circle with Kabuto, Gaara, and Neji. He almost expected Itachi's long ponytail to gently bounce on his back or flow in the wind. But it wasn't there anymore.

"Run as much as you all like."

His neck snapped in the opposite direction, noticing that he was quickly moving away from the center of the camp, away from the triangular formation of military officials. They all carried a single classic revolver, all of their arms raised as the rest of the members released an onslaught of sloppy bullets. Sasuke's eyes came into contact with the single woman there, with fiery red hair and a bandana over her head. She reminded him of Karin. She spat a strange substance onto the ground and used her teeth to change her magazine of bullets. His chest constricted under the warmth around it. His neck burned as he dragged in cold breaths of freezing air and his chest ached again.

He noticed that the thing constricting his chest was a shoulder, his own feet stumbling along with the familiar pair next to his. A further panic seemed to break out once it appeared one of their own had been shot in the leg, arm, chest – Sasuke didn't _know_ any more.

Naruto, like he always did, was yelling into his ear. In the back of his mind, he noted that Naruto was telling him something along the sides of _"Snap out of it!"_ and _"We need to fight, you ass!"_

Naruto was tugging him, but where, Sasuke couldn't see – his eyes had long since shut once a searing headache bloomed in his mind. His thoughts only focused on Itachi, confusion, anger, pain, and a deep-seated _sadness_ that overcame his limbs. He had been betrayed, fooled, played.

They tripped and tumbled, obviously some opening in the woods on a side of camp Sasuke hadn't been on. He painfully hit his shoulder on the butt of his gun, nearly dropping Kusanagi out of her sheath by the sheer force of his back skidding against the ground. Naruto had fallen on his front beside him, wiping his face of dirt and slosh.

His mind momentarily unclouded. Sasuke crawled on his hands and knees, struggling to reach for his gun. The Uchiha family crest shone iridescently on the butt of his gun beside him. Reality hit him, panging in his chest and mind. That family crest was the only physical reminder he had of Itachi.

His heart caught up with his mind and he choked on one of his breaths, burying his face in his arms. Itachi was _gone_. He knew that there was no changing his mind and that no begging for his brother to return was going to bring him back. He had a one track mind.

From the day Sasuke had been born, from the framed pictures of Itachi holding Sasuke as a newborn lost in One that day they left, in the stories of his mother and the vivid memories of his dad, never had it crossed his mind that Itachi would betray him. He had always told them that their brotherhood bond was the strongest, one that couldn't be snared by anything.

"Are you okay? Sa-"

Sasuke's whole body felt ice cold, but not because he was lying in snow. Each breath he took was labored, painful and loud, and he kept _choking_ on them. He couldn't breathe. The back of his eyes burned and he forced out another rough breath as another roll of Itachi's words hit him, like pouring salt on a wound. He unconsciously tucked his legs into his chest, blocking himself out from the world as the ghost of Itachi's memories robbed him of oxygen. He was wheezing and tears had begun to cling to his eyelashes, burning his eyes.

He felt so utterly _powerless_. There was absolutely nothing he could do to bring Itachi by his side again. He would probably never see the man again. All the words Itachi told him, the ones about the future Itachi had planned to keep him safe in, the memories of fighting side by side and Itachi protecting him to no end were _lies_.

But Sasuke had accepted it already. It was immensely confusing, but he knew Itachi well enough to know that the man had reasons. All the lessons and advice Itachi had ever taught and told him would stick with him for the rest of his life. Even though he had cruelly left his only family alone after a decade of strengthening their bond, he had a reason to. Sasuke didn't know it, and he would probably never know it. Maybe he didn't want to know it, but the pain of immediate acceptance was like a cold knife scraping at his heart.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whispered, shaking his shoulder and jarring him from his thoughts. His hand was warm. "Are you okay? Breathe!" The blond struggled to pick up his friend, Sasuke fighting against his prying hands and struggling to stay on the ground. He wanted to sort out his thoughts immediately.

Sasuke ignored Naruto's pleas, though they momentarily interrupted the panic rising in his gut. His hands were gentle around his wrists with just a hint of characteristic sweat that they carried in situations like this.

"I'm here!" Naruto murmured harshly, sadly grabbing at Sasuke's wrists each time he yanked them away to cradle his head in again. Naruto's eyes burned, his heart clenching empathetically for his best friend. "Please listen to me," he whispered.

Sasuke continued to have what the blond guessed was a panic attack in front of him, strangling himself with his arms and struggling to breathe. Naruto didn't know whether to interfere or not, whether it would stop if he offered comfort or not. It was in his nature to automatically comfort his friends, and he thought that was what Sasuke most needed right now.

He noticed that the other's struggles were beginning to weaken as he took in less and less oxygen. Was Sasuke really going to knock himself out? Naruto hurriedly turned him on his back, loosening his sweater collar around his neck. With no qualms, he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's torso and buried his face in his heaving chest, humming in hopes that it would bring him back to the present. He remembered that his mother hummed into his chest as a child when he came home crying from school, freshly bullied and too nice to stand up for himself.

Above him, Sasuke coughed and dragged in more breaths, his arms still covering his eyes and a cold sweat on his neck. His interest was roused in the gentle shaking of his chest, almost tickling him. He lifted an arm enough to glance down at the mop of golden blond hair on his chest, some flecks of "dandruff" in his hair. He fondly remembered Naruto mistaking the snow for the stuff.

He distantly noticed the blond's shoulders shaking against his abdomen, being dragged away from his mind. Sasuke removed his arms from his eyes, slowly and hesitantly placing them back at his sides and gazing down at Naruto. His heart was still racing and he was breathing in soft gasps. He vaguely remembered the other's clumsy foot getting caught in a hidden tree root and then they were tumbling into the woods. He glanced to the side, where Kusanagi lay, and avoided looking to the other.

"Get off of me," Sasuke said, pushing against Naruto's head. His hair was thick and soft, responsible for claiming the wild locks and mind-boggling volume it held. The blond was heavy, most of his weight pressing against Sasuke's stomach. For all the fuss he put up about Sasuke being heavy, he sure was one to talk.

In the distance, he heard the yells of their camp mates and the ongoing stutter of bullet after bullet. The shots rang out into the atmosphere, breaking the points of miles and miles within seconds and nearly sounding like fireworks.

Some snow melted on Sasuke's stomach and he flinched at the coldness. He now knew that the blond just wanted to calm him down – but his simple touch had done that. Naruto had hugged him, bringing him back to the present and ripping himself from his mindful of memories. The churning in his stomach was still there, though, as well as the quickened beat of his heart – but those were things that came along with his mere presence. His touch was pleasant, warm and comforting. It covered Sasuke like a blanket and made him feel safe, almost drowsy.

"Are you okay?" Naruto pulled his face away from Sasuke's stomach, looking up into his face and politely demanding an answer.

He didn't have the energy or heart to glare at the blond. He sighed and nodded gently, sitting up when Naruto leant back on his haunches to let him. Sasuke scooted back, gingerly sheathing Kusanagi and slugging her on his back. He turned to his rifle, the Uchiha crest facing him and glinting almost like a sadistic wink. He scowled and grabbed the rifle, moodily shouldering it. The pale boy leant forward, digging into his boot to toss out some snow and a few stray sticks.

Sasuke accepted the hug that he sensed was coming. He could practically hear Naruto debating whether or not to give him one. It wasn't exactly what Sasuke needed, but he knew that the blond felt more rather than he thought.

"I'm so sorry," Naruto whispered into his shoulder, squeezing him roughly. Sasuke nodded and sighed, placing his hands on the back of his back, choosing not to rub or pat. His broad shoulders shook slightly and the bottoms of his boots were well worn and matted with dirt and grass.

Sasuke frowned. "Are you crying?" he asked, a bit bewildered that Naruto would be _that _affected.

"Maybe a little," Naruto said, his voice muffled by Sasuke's shirt. "and there's nothing wrong with it."

He snorted lightly at the blond contradicting himself. He had enough emotions for the both of them, maybe even three people. Sasuke felt truly calm, Naruto's back warming his cold cheeks and his hair slightly tickling his neck.

"Why?" he murmured.

"Because," the blond grumbled angrily. "you're _brothers_."

Sasuke sighed. He wasn't surprised in the least bit that Naruto would go this far for him.

"And he was always watching over you. He was your only family, and now he's…" Naruto trailed off, taking a few shuddering breaths between his words.

"But you don't have any family, either, right?" he asked, hoping that he didn't sound too critical or that it came out as an insult. He would leave it to Naruto to understand.

"No, but…" he pulled his face away from Sasuke's shoulder slightly. "It's just that he was here with you all this time. He… are you okay?"

"I already told you I'm fine," he replied. "You always get riled up too easily."

"So do you," the blond retorted. "Sorry… he's your brother, not mine…"

"How come I always have to tell you that it's not your fault?" Sasuke sighed, slightly clenching his hands into Naruto's shirt. "I don't get why you're the one doing all the crying."

"'Cause I'm _manly_ enough to," Naruto said. He felt him shift his arm around Sasuke's back to wipe his face. "and you're just gonna go everywhere sulking."

Why were they joking around mere minutes after his brother's departure? Why did it seem both rational and irrational to completely ignore reality around one another, for their conversation to heighten to banter? It confused Sasuke. Naruto was literally all over him and asking him if he was okay not even ten minutes after Neji had held him at knifepoint.

He weakened their hug and gradually broke it off. Naruto's eyes were slightly red, burning and feeling like they were dry. There was still so much more that he wanted to say, but kept to himself for the fear of upsetting Sasuke. He wanted to voice his feelings, emphasize the fact that Itachi had _left _his brother so that Sasuke would understand the pain a bit more. Sasuke's panic attack was just the immediate ramification of the abandoning. Naruto truly didn't want to see his friend suffer yet again from the stages of grief and loss.

"It sounds like they're fighting," Sasuke pointed out, seeming to amplify the gunshots and yells.

The blond gasped and glanced around them. They were barely inside the woods, shaded and covered by some thick palm trees. He wondered why an official hadn't followed them. It was true that they were greater in population than the officials, as there had only been eight sent for them. They were different than the ones he and Sasuke had encountered in the city, only Kimimaro being in the same group.

"You know we have to fight," Sasuke said, snapping him out of his thoughts. Naruto looked at him, black hair contrasting nicely against the ivory pallor of his skin and the soft white of the snow. His thin eyebrows were slightly brought together, a look of concentration rather than irritation.

"Aren't I supposed to be saying that?" Naruto questioned, offering his friend a weak smile. "We can't let everyone down."

The way Naruto said "down" reminded Sasuke of an event back in the camp. "Holy shit… none of us helped Hinata."

"What?" Naruto frowned. "Did she get hurt?"

He sighed. "You must have been watching the officials," he said grimly. "Neji took Hinata with them."

"What!" the blond yelled, jumping on his feet. "He… _abducted _her?"

Sasuke nodded in confirmation and bent over to sit with one of his legs tucked into his chest, the other spread in front of him. "They all ran away."

"See," he ran a hand through his blond hair. "I don't see why any of us didn't chase them. We had a-"

"No, we didn't," Sasuke disagreed. "They were with the military. And the way Itachi thinks… he's very devoted. Once he makes a decision, it sticks." His chest hurt with each word.

The other shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe we let that happen."

"There was probably no hope in saving her," Sasuke offered, feeling a bit odd. They were talking about her as if she were dead or as if she ran away herself.

Naruto sighed out of his nose, glaring at a spot on the snow-covered ground. He bobbed his leg impatiently. "Stay here," he ordered. "I'm going out there to fight."

Sasuke scoffed and looked up at Naruto from the ground. "So am I, dickwad. What the hell makes you think you're the only one that can fight?"

The assertiveness in Naruto's eyes melted with the worry that he had been rude and inconsiderate. "It's just that… they'll recognize you and take you, too…"

"They won't if I move fast enough," Sasuke deadpanned. He peeked into the camp. It seemed like the fight had been focused in the center of the whole camp. Nobody had led the officials away from each other and into advantage points. He shook his head. Along with panic came their disorder.

Naruto took a few steps away. Fear blossomed in Sasuke's chest and abdomen as he watched tan hands swing under Itachi's jacket. It was almost as if…

Suddenly, Sasuke was on his feet and his hand was barely clutching Naruto's upper arm. His head was tilted down and his lips were pulled taught into a straight line, his other hand fisted by his side.

"Don't… leave," he breathed, barely audible. He felt pathetic, but the only figure he trusted most in his life right now was Naruto. He couldn't let him walk out of his life or escape his field of vision. His mind…it was fragile right now.

Naruto was pulled to a stop. He glanced to his friend, seeing only the top of his head as he stared at his feet. His fingers clutched a small portion of his jacket so hard that his knuckles had turned white. Then, Naruto came across a realization; one that made him understand Sasuke to an even fuller extent. Under the stony face and stoic attitude, he was extremely vulnerable; he had to be there for him.

"Hey…" Naruto whispered and bent down to pick up his Jericho that had fallen in the midst of their tumble. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sasuke raised his head, his jaw visibly clenching as he released the sleeve of Naruto's jacket.

"You'll stay, right?"

Naruto scowled. "Here? We're no way in hell staying here. We have friends to fight with, 'Sas."

Sasuke's head perked up, his eyes slightly clearer and his eyes holding the smallest traces of surprise and delight. He cleared his throat and loaded his rifle, the loud click announcing his new determination.

"You have my right."

"I have your left," Naruto nodded. "What kind of ambush?"

The corner of Sasuke's lip turned up into his trademark smirk, mischief glimmering in his eyes. "An attack from behind. I call Kimimaro's head."

"I got it," Naruto said. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>AN: A day late, but at least it's not a month. :b Can we celebrate Sector Five hitting 100k words? You guys have come a long way! After this plot twist, I understand if you wanna run away from this fic at the speed of light - but instead of leaving dust in your wake, leave reviews. Until next week!


	18. Broken Bonds - Part II

Chapter 17: Broken Bonds – Part II

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><p>They moved through the brush efficiently, keeping their steps light and their guns in hand to prevent the clinking of bullets in their chamber. At certain areas in the woods, they'd have to quickly duck under low branches and stay that way as to not be seen. The sounds of a rough battle were heard even more clearly now, the frantic switching of a magazine with shaking fingers, the sound of shells hitting the ground after piercing shots, the heavy breathing and grunts, the pangs of metal against each other, and the audible scuffles on ground as some group members chose to take things down the classic way.<p>

Naruto knew that their most specialized and experienced close combat members were Neji and Hinata – but neither was here to fight anymore. Coming up right behind them was Rock Lee, trained harshly by Guy and who seemed to perpetually be running laps around their whole camp at a dizzying speed. The guy would practically punish himself if he didn't do something perfectly, giving himself two-hundred pushups and sit-ups to do and seventy-five laps around the camp to sprint. He had mad dedication that Naruto, albeit sometimes disturbed by it, admired. The blond knew it would be nearly impossible to defeat the monster.

He knew that the girls of the camp were vicious in close combat. There was no questioning them. Tenten had an obsession with various knives and creative, melee weapons. Karin seemed to prefer getting her knuckles bruised and bloody. Sakura's strength, achieved by the training of Tsunade, was downright terrifying – she could break a neck with one hand. Naruto couldn't recall much of Ino's fighting style. What he did recall was a quick series of disabling attacks, almost done in a dancelike manner. It was similar to what he had seen of Neji and Hinata, and he wouldn't be surprised if either of them had shown her some of their moves. Sai fought in a similar way, though he tended to use an assortment of weapons similar to Tenten's.

Naruto knew that Chouji threw some spine-snapping attacks, throwing all of his weight behind them. His attacks were efficient, but the boy moved like a bull. Shikamaru usually stuck around to fill in the areas Chouji missed, mostly using knives to paralyze the enemy. If he remembered correctly, another dynamic duo was Shino and Kiba. Shino tended to remain as far from his attacker as possible, always evading a fight without so much as a bruise or scratch. Quite the contrary to him, Kiba was an actual animal – he charged into battle headfirst and wasn't afraid to throw a few body slams into mud. Beside him was always Akamaru the mutant issue mutt, ripping flesh clean from bones and protecting his master at all costs. Suigetsu preferred to use a thick sword of his that seemed to move by itself sometimes. He had noticed that Juugo didn't need much besides his own weight to defend himself.

Whose fighting techniques he couldn't recall very well, though, were those of Konohamaru. Naruto could guess that he was a close combat fighter like him, as the boy tended to cling onto him at times. He wished that the adults were here to fight with them – Jiraiya had some deadly moves due to his large size. Kakashi had some pretty badass, speedy moves that he had witnessed to take down three scouts within five minutes. Tsunade was a wielder of severely inhumane strength and could smash someone's skull like an eggshell. Guy was very similar to Lee, focused on strength and agility. And the others… well… Itachi had been an excellent fighter, obviously self-taught. He recalled Kabuto being an outstanding archer and swordsman.

Naruto glanced to his side, leaves gently whispering against the sides of his face and clinging into his hair. Sasuke was mainly focused on speed and power. He was enviously good at almost all fighting techniques, whether it be combat in close or long distance. While he took on a more graceful and organized approach of attacking, Naruto reared his head into battles and immediately went for the weak spot, no matter how well it was protected. In that situation, Sasuke would take the guards down to inch himself closer to the weakness, like a game of dominoes.

The pale boy held out his arm, lightly hitting Naruto in the chest and slowing them to a stop. They were at a junction of the forest just a few feet away from where the officials had invaded into, positioned just so they could see the military men but not vice versa. Only three of the twelve scouts that had entered were standing guard there.

Naruto shuffled a bit deeper into the woods, catching eye of a shine in the foliage. He moved a few branches away and, lo and behold, were two huge black military-grade SUVs; completely decked out with bumper protectors, blue and yellow alarm lights and a matching trailer attached to the back of each one. The trailers looked like a cage that an animal control vehicle would carry around. It read _"Sector Three Border Control"_ in huge, luminescent yellow letters. He took quiet and careful steps closer to the vehicles, his eyes slightly burning from keeping his eyes on them too long. But he had to be alert. Along the indents of indestructible looking bolts in the trailer and on the entering step of it was a substance Naruto decided to deem as rust. He swallowed roughly and his heart ached for the ones that had been caught, ones who had been ripped from their homes yet again. He could envision the officials manhandling men and women, children as well, into the trailers, declaring their extermination as soon as they came within a few feet of them. A pungent stench radiated from both of them, so strong that Naruto had to prevent himself from gagging. This was fucking _horrible_.

He snapped his neck away from the trailers, successfully keeping yesterday's lunch down. He didn't need to think about what happened inside of those things. Instead, he focused on the matted areas of luscious grass that the officials had so roughly skidded over, slightly uprooting some of it. The blond glanced inside the SUV closest to him. Its windows were tinted a complete, glossy black. He recognized the whole model of the vehicle as a more recent one of Kakashi's. Its wheels looked like they could run over huge road spikes and still come out unscathed, raised so that the vehicle came a bit more than a full head above his own.

The blond glanced behind himself to where he felt Sasuke glaring at him, sending him a message with his eyes that said _come the fuck back over here_ all too clearly. He held up his index finger to Sasuke, asking for just a bit more time to search what the officials had left outside of their vehicles.

Naruto carefully rounded the vehicle, intimidated by its size and his own reflection in its paint coat and windows. He couldn't tell if someone or something was inside one of them. He'd have to take a risk. Now he reached the driver's door and came to an important decision – should he open it or not? The silver handle was glossy and held a few fingerprints on it. It would be pretty bad if they traced him, wouldn't it? Sucking in a deep breath, he bunched the bottom of his shirt between his fingers and wrapped it around his whole palm. He set his hand on the door handle, the surface so clean that his fingers barely squeaked on the surface. Sending a hopeful look to himself, he looked anxious and sweaty – he would do anything to bring safety upon his camp.

Naruto tugged the door, starting when it actually opened. No alarms or lights went off, and no person or Katon jumped out of the vehicle to attack him. He licked his chapped lips and opened it all the way, revealing high-grade Sector technology and weapons littering the black leather seats.

Naruto gasped. He closed the door slightly and glanced back to where Sasuke was crouching, madly beckoning him over and tilting his head towards the door.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and shook his head, flipping him off and jerking his hand to get Naruto to return to his side. He shook his head when the other persisted, hooking his thumb to the full-blown battle behind him and mouthing that he was a… what was that… Naruto stopped his motions and tilted his head. He didn't think he'd known that cuss word before.

Gee, Sasuke really had a mouth on him. The blond continued to motion towards the car, closing his fist to poke out his thumb and index finger in a gun gesture, closing the door halfway and aiming his hand at it. The pale boy tilted his head and grabbed his own shotgun in askance. Naruto nodded and began to beckon madly again.

Sasuke glanced behind himself, narrowly avoiding being caught by a guard who shifted his weight and spit on the ground to his side. He shuffled along the corners of the forest, lightly brushing against leaves and disturbing the resting snow on the tallest branches. He moved quickly and silently, hands on his weapons and eyes on the military officials.

He finally jogged up to Naruto, looking slightly irritated but curious nonetheless. "What the hell is it?" He grumbled and tucked a thick lock of his bangs behind his ear.

"They left their guns in the front seat," Naruto whispered and tugged the door open a bit more. "Should we take 'em?"

"First of all," his friend replied tensely and pursed his lips. "those are military-grade weapons. Some of those things don't even look like fucking guns. Second of all, neither of us know how to work those, stupid. And last of all, what the hell are you thinking, opening the _official's fucking car_-"

"Alright, alright," Naruto interrupted and rolled his eyes. Despite Sasuke's bitching, he tugged a suitcase off of the dashboard and nearly doubled over with its weight.

"Naruto," the other growled. "Put that back right now."

The blond opened the latch of the silver case, neatly popping open to reveal a complicated assortment of weapons imbedded in black foam. He tilted his head. Naruto laid his eyes on the odd guns inside, some of them resembling simple classic revolvers and evolving into sleek, small shapes. He tentatively reached out for a gun that kind of looked like a boomerang, wondering how the sleek white metal would feel like-

"Ouch!" he hissed, cradling his wrist to his chest and glaring up at Sasuke. He had fucking kicked his hand!

Sasuke crouched to bring himself eye level with Naruto, making sure to give him a look so dirty that his balls would shrivel up. He quickly slammed the suitcase shut and closed the latch, tossing it back inside the vehicle and gently pressing the driver's door shut.

"Now, that was no fun."

Sasuke had unsheathed Kusanagi in less than a few seconds and dragged Naruto to his feet in the same window of time. His partner raised his favorite gun in the direction the voice had come from, biting his lip and furrowing his brow in concentration.

"Put that gun down, dickless," Sai emerged from the opposite side of the military vehicle, carrying a silver suitcase in hand.

"Sai!" Naruto choked out. He glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, the back of his neck turning red at the nickname. He certainly had a dick. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sai smiled in an utterly bloodcurdling manner. "I could ask both of you the same thing. A romantic rendezvous? A dramatic exit? A flee to freedom? Just what are you planning?"

Naruto hoped that the boy beside him kept his attention focused on Sai and not the blooming redness across his cheeks. He balled his fists by his sides. "For your information, we're planning to attack the officials. Now what the hell are you doing stealing military weapons?"

"Isn't that what you were planning on doing?" Sasuke grumbled under his breath and dug the tip of Kusanagi into the ground. He carefully examined Sai, not a single emotion to be seen on his sheet white face.

The blond resisted telling his friend to shut up and willed the blood gathering in his whole face to leave. This really wasn't the time for Sai's lewd gestures and jokes – if they could be even called jokes. All the dude did was comment on everything, especially penises.

"If you really want to know…" Sai deadpanned and rubbed his chin calmly. "I was supposed to leave with Kabuto."

Now Naruto's jaw went slack. Sai had always been content around this camp and had even befriended Naruto, though he was aggravating and too perverted most of the time. The blond would have never expected him to so much as _hate_ the camp. He seemed to pick up artistic inspiration just about every day from his friends. "You…? Sai, w-"

"Yes. I forgot that I was with Kabuto in the first place."

"You forgot," Sasuke cut in flatly, sending the other a disbelieving look. "even after that whole speech Kabuto gave back there?"

"Yes."

Silence overcame the three as they all stared at one another, two sets of incredulous eyes staring at a pair of bored and indifferent ones. They all bathed in a full minute of unadulterated silence, expecting an explanation from the teen standing alone in front of them – but one never came. Distant clangs of metal and gunshots punctuated it but never the voice of the artist.

"Uh…" Naruto started. "So you're staying with us?"

"I guess so."

Sasuke scowled beside him. "Then you better help us with our ambush."

Sai squinted his eyes at the Uchiha, tilting his head back and parting his lips. He turned his head to the guards at the entrance of the camp, then back to Sasuke. The artist appeared to be in deep thought, calculating their positions and their most likely mediums of attack.

"What is your plan?" he suddenly asked.

Sasuke grunted. He finally meant business. "The first thing is to sneak up on those guards from behind," he whispered and pointed to said guards. "Disarm them and then kill them. Use a knife if you can so we don't attract the other officials. We all get one each, since there's only three – first come, first serve, I guess. Then we help the rest of the camp."

"I see…" Sai returned to the realms of his thoughts yet again. "So your personality suggests-"

"What?" Sasuke interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything that has to do with-"

"-that you have a big dick. But I don't know if it matches your personality. Please drop your-"

"_Excuse _me?" Sasuke growled. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Beside him, Naruto snorted. "I bet 'Sas has a millimeter Peter-"

"This is not the time for this," Sasuke snapped, genuinely irritated by the whole conversation. "We need to move in-"

"You are one to talk, Naruto," Sai quipped. "Hence why I have named you Dickless-"

"What! What about your dick, huh, Sai?"

"Stop it!" Sasuke hissed. "You're so fucking immature. We're moving in right now. Both of you are stupid dumbasses."

"It is somewhat redundant to use 'stupid' and 'dumbass' consecutively," Sai noted. "next time, I suggest you use 'fucking'."

The boy ignored him and marched his way along the forest brush, skimming the soft leaves and the snow lying upon them. He knew that the other two would have no other choice than to follow him. _Just walk away_, he reminded himself, controlling his hot head and leading himself away from the two biggest idiots in the world. An inch away from death and Naruto would still try to pick fights. What kind of man was he getting into?

And right before they had all agreed to ambush. They needed to move _now_. Who knew what members of their camp were already dead or injured, or if they had all been captured and were currently being tortured? The gunshots and screams didn't have a story of their own. There was no possible way to see who had lost their life within the echoes of an emptied chamber or whether the grunt he just heard was one of victory or someone's very last grunt.

He sobered his thoughts and checked to make sure Kusanagi was on her cutting side, a strong grip around her hilt and a firm offensive stance in his legs. There was no telling just how good these officials were – it had been ten years since he had last fought one. Even then it had been difficult, but he had been a tender elementary school age. He'd like to see just how much his combat skills had improved.

Now he was crouched just over ten feet away from the guards, glancing behind himself to ensure that both of his comrades were behind him. Indeed they were, Sai directly behind him and Naruto closing their formation. The artist held two short cutting knifes in either hands, ones that nearly reminded Sasuke of the one that had been buried in his shoulder. He nearly shivered.

He turned his attention back to the guards they were nearing. Sasuke fell into a lower crouch, carefully maneuvering back into the spot that Naruto and he had been before. He patiently waited for the blond to quit fumbling in a bush and return to his spot, fisting his hand in the soft forest grass and feeling some dirt lodge under his fingernails. This decision right here – it was a life or death one, Sasuke reminded himself. He'd choose correctly due to the intense pressure training Itachi had put him under and so diligently listened to. He'd do this for the mere memories of his older brother and he'd take out his sadness and frustration on the male guard he would attack. With the loss of the man's life, he would also lose the negative thoughts about his brother – he'd let him go right here, right now. He wouldn't have time to mourn and sulk in the future.

A determined look came upon Sasuke's features, leaking into his tense shoulders and white knuckles around Kusanagi's hilt. Today, he wouldn't mess up _at all_. He'd avenge his own family, although only on a few members of the Sector he wasn't even from. Never mind that, they might as well all be working together in a sick idea of peace. Sasuke eyed the stocky stature of the guard farthest away from him. He had short brown hair and matching eyes which were looking everywhere but the area he was supposed to be guarding – skimming across the ground and wandering into the trees. It wouldn't be too hard to take him down, Sasuke thought. They must have underestimated their whole camp and sent in a few rookies, judging by the limited attention span of the three in front of them. Sasuke understood that it was a better choice to send their best fighters straight into battle – but leaving the newbies by themselves? It was like leaving a kindergartener with a bowl of hand putty and nobody to tell them when to stop playing with it. They were all distracted by either themselves, each other, or their surroundings. How unprofessional.

Sasuke snorted and frowned deeply, turning his head to Naruto. "You could walk straight up to them and they wouldn't notice," he whispered, voice masked by the yells and gunshots in the distance. "how pathetic."

"Uh…" Naruto cast him a wary glance, his eyes flickering back and forth between the other and the guards. "I think I misheard you… what was the ambush plan again?"

He raised an eyebrow and inspected the blond's expression, analyzing the confusion all over its tan features. "Disarm them," Sasuke repeated himself, gesturing to his own shotgun. "and kill them." He made a cutthroat motion with his hand, raising his eyebrows in a hopeful finale that he hoped Naruto understood. "I'd prefer if you'd use your knife. Spread some blood around h-"

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Naruto murmured, his hand flying up to the back of his neck, fingers tangling in his flaxen hair and scratching his scalp.

"You are right now."

"In _private_," he replied almost incoherently, deemed uncomfortable should Sai hear his request.

The other tensed, sending Naruto a cautious glance and pressing his lips into a straight line. He guessed there was no turning the blond down now – he wouldn't stop bothering Sasuke if he said no. So he glanced at Sai, sending him a warning look and rising to his full height, motioning for Naruto to follow him. He treaded lightly on the thin sticks and hard clumps of snow in the woods, slightly irritated that Naruto seemed to want a heart-to-heart right before an all-too-important ambush.

Sasuke turned suddenly, keeping his voice down as to not attract officials and to keep his own irritation from leaking into his voice. If he wanted to gain Naruto's trust steadily, he'd have to respect his decisions at all times – even if they sprung up at completely inappropriate ones like right now. "What?"

He ran a hand through his blond mane and sighed through his nose, shuffling his feet and slumping his shoulders. Naruto visibly bit at the inside of his lip and focused his eyes on anywhere else but Sasuke, crossing his arms behind his back. He finally glanced at the other, but only for a single fleeting moment before darting around the growth of the forest once again.

Sasuke relaxed his face, wiping any expression of irritation away and letting his hands hang freely at his sides. "Naruto."

"I-" Naruto swallowed roughly mid-sentence, attempting to focus on Sasuke. The time he had spent before staring into the shrubs and stalling their ambush seemed useless now. He had forgotten the small speech he had quickly made up. Now he didn't know how he acted when he wasn't under stress, didn't know how to control the shaking of his fingers and the jumping in his throat. "I don't think I can do it."

Sasuke was taken aback – he didn't expect a reply for at least another minute. "Can't do what?" he asked in genuine confusion.

The other sighed, a bit exasperated that he'd have to voice his dreaded problem. Sooner or later, he'd have to man up – just as Sasuke and the others already had, leaving him in the dust. Naruto moved to rub the side of his head but awkwardly caught himself in the middle of the action and settled for an ungraceful crossing of his arms. "I don't think I can kill them," he said softly, staring at a tear in Sasuke's shirt near his collarbone.

Sasuke didn't miss a beat. "Why not?"

There it was. Sasuke didn't approve of his feelings, Naruto thought. His mouth struggled to catch up with his mind, taking veering turns and nearly crashing with others. "I know that they're officials and all-"

"Why _not_?" Sasuke repeated himself, just a bit softer this time. He tilted his head up, face blank. His irises, like dark pools, held no snarky monsters or malicious creatures lurking in their depths – there were flowers of ears that would bloom at the slightest provocation and deep, promising ivy that held an occasional thorn.

Naruto swallowed roughly. "Sasuke, they have families of their own to go home to. If we kill them… they can't bring food to the table to feed their wives and children, much less themselves. Sai and I are victims of this. They're not the true enemy, they're _doing their job_. If we kill them, what more does that make us than an enemy ourselves?"

He pushed away the pang somewhere deep in his chest. Yet another thing Naruto and he hadn't experienced together. He was on his own for this one, teamed up with two that saw the men guarding as their own parents. Who were they to deny them the love of their own children?

"Then I'm sorry they couldn't realize what they were doing right now," Sasuke said. "Just look out there. If they haven't already realized what they were doing…" he shrugged and shook his head. "No child would be proud of their parents when Job Day comes around."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and stared at him for a few moments, processing what he had just said.

"I see what you're saying, Naruto. We're already no better than them. Just… picture them as deer or something. I promise that there's no healthy benefit for what they've done."

The other's cheeks were slightly flushed, his azure eyes grateful for another reason. Naruto took in a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Sorry for taking so long."

Sasuke didn't reply, simply nodding once and turning to lead them back to Sai's figure, poised and ready for attack. He turned his head and glared impatiently at the pair. He realized that he couldn't give Naruto time to change his mind – they would have to jump straight in before he realized what he was doing.

"On three," he whispered, taking advantage of a bird call to unsheathe Kusanagi, masking her hollow sound.

Sai lowered a paper mask onto his face that Sasuke hadn't noticed before. It was of a tiger, painted roughly in thick black acrylic that appeared oriental. "One," his monotone voice announced.

Naruto's throat felt like cotton and he felt like he was in a dream. The grip on his knife felt weak and his ankles flimsy in his boots.

"Two."

He swallowed roughly. His stomach was filled with sludge, his mind filling with negative energy. Perhaps his hands had done so much worse in the past.

"Three."

At once, they gently stepped out from the shrubbery, Sasuke and Sai immediately grabbing the posterior guards and leaving Naruto with the centermost guard.

He turned around, face etched in confusion as he wondered where his colleagues had gone. The guard jumped when he saw Naruto and immediately flipped open the gun holster on his hip to clumsily pull out a sleek contraption.

The blond, averting his eyes from the thin face of the guard, simply raised his foot and the contraption skittered along the dewy grass. He was scrawny. That thin wrist was probably sprained, at least bruised.

Naruto grabbed the man by his stiff collar – it held no merit pins. This guy was a newbie. Maybe it was his first day on the job, and if it was, it sure was shitty ass first day. He slammed the official against the nearest tree, jostling its leaves and causing lumps of snow to shower down on them. The man – Isamu, his nametag read – struggled diligently around his firm grip, using well-practiced self-defense to grab Naruto's wrists and fingers in weak attempts to twist and break them like he had to Neji's. This guy just didn't have enough weight on him for the job, his sweaty hands sliding off Naruto's skin and his knees to the blond's stomach easily dodgeable. Isamu twisted his body wildly away from the tree, moving his feet to hook behind Naruto's to trip him. But Naruto simply held his weight or lifted his foot.

This was sad. Naruto pressed his forearm into the guard's neck, effectively holding him down and choking him. He glanced down, carefully sheathing his hunting knife as Isamu clawed at his arm and moving his head slightly when he threw a punch. Naruto finally yanked the man away from the tree, being dragged along as he tried to run away while stumbling over his own fancy shoes. The blond produced his leather-bound knife from his pocket, quickly hooking it around the other's neck and using both of his hands to hold either side of the clad knife.

Their heads were side by side, the back of the guard's neck against his left shoulder and his leather knife barely migrating closer and closer to his own neck as the man stopped struggling. Isamu never stopped fighting, presumably a man dedicated to his work. He attempted to kick Naruto's feet out from under him, weakly threw a few backhands into his nose but turning into a slap weaker than a kitten's. He tried to elbow Naruto in the stomach, and although they felt like mere pats, he flexed his abdominal muscles like it were to be a real hit. He located the main vain of his wrist, digging his long thumb into Naruto's tan skin and successfully drawing blood – Naruto simply jutted his whole body to the left, crushing the man's trachea and closing his eyes in a weak attempt to block out the sound of the other's morbid choking and gurgling.

Isamu stopped struggling. Naruto held onto his neck for a minute longer, ensuring that he hadn't faked death and was robbed of all his oxygen. The expensive material of the military uniform rubbed against Naruto's wrist, tightly wound and starched straight. He finally let the man slump to the ground in an unceremonious heap, blood leaking out of his nose from his attempt to head-butt Naruto and a straight bruised line already formed across his neck.

Naruto stared at the bound knife in his hand, gently tossing it and grinding his lips together. He almost didn't want to pocket it anymore, something he had used to kill someone. He pocketed it either way and glanced up, forcing himself to forget the hot breaths hitting the side of his neck and the spit hitting his left cheek from rough and desperate breaths.

He knelt down and turned the man on his back, refraining from looking into his eyes. He dragged the small cap atop his head, now thrown haphazardly a few feet away from him, over his face. The golden hog symbol and crest glittered on the front of the cap, a morbid wink at Naruto. He had come face to face with death but wasn't the one experiencing it.

Grimly, Naruto stood and glanced in front of him. Sai had engaged in a quickly-paced and graceful fight with another guard, obviously more experienced than Naruto's. There was a long gash across the guard's face, leaking down onto his collar where a single bronze star glinted in the light. He wore his hair in a short bun – scratch that, now bob. Sai had chopped it off in a feasible attempt to chop his neck off.

Naruto gulped and immediately searched for Sasuke. He was kneeling on the ground not too far away from him, gingerly running Kusanagi over the soft grass to remove the thick blood from her blade. Pungent even from here, Naruto nearly gagged but made the wise choice to breathe from his mouth. He could nearly taste the metallic flavor of blood in the air, accompanied by none other than sweat.

He kneeled next to Sasuke, finding himself lulled to relaxation in his back-and-forth movements to clean Kusanagi. Her blade moved smoothly and lightly over the grass, slicing thin blades of it away when her owner shifted slightly.

"Stabbed him the moment I ran out of there," Sasuke grumbled. "this is the only downside of it."

Naruto grunted, knotting his fingers in his lap and staring at the beads and thin streaks of maroon on the blade.

"Saw you strangle him," he continued. "and it looked like you remembered pretty well."

"I did," Naruto said. "Isn't the whole point of fighting to learn how to move your body, so that the attacks come like instinct?"

"Yeah," Sasuke grunted and finally resorted to tearing a piece of cloth off a leg protruding from the forest. No doubt that Sasuke had shoved him into the woods, to "spread some blood". He ran the cloth up his blade, successfully wiping it of all blood and leaving nothing but an orangey residue. "and you probably remember everything. About fighting, at least."

He idly watched Sai break a sweat fighting the other guard. "I guess we'll see."

"I think I've told you this a million times already," Sasuke announced suddenly, placing Kusanagi on the ground and turning his body towards Naruto. "but this doesn't make you a bad person. You know what does?"

Naruto scowled into the grass, his cheek tingling from where he knew Sasuke was staring at it. The baritone of Sasuke's voice was always smooth and full. He hummed.

"I say," he tilted his head in thought, black bangs shifting and tickling Naruto's nose. "a bad person is a terrorist. One who kills a person without a purpose, and one who lies to others."

"People who lie to themselves won't bring anything positive to their loved ones," Naruto murmured, finally raising his eyes to the intense dark ones of Sasuke. "they're hurting themselves _and_ others. Hurting others is one thing, but themselves…" his gravelly voice was unable to use such a quiet tone.

Sasuke, like always, boldly held his eye contact. He wasn't one to back down, wasn't one to give up and declare defeat. Though this wasn't some sort of contest, this was an earnest confession coming from himself – and Naruto had so generously accepted his opinion, never missing a beat. Their beings – Sasuke blinked – they were always in some sort of sync… whether it be that they would match each other's moods or speeds or styles, it always happened.

Naruto felt a gravitational pull to the other, a yearning to look closer inside the depth of his eyes. He was, as always, even more charmingly handsome this close – but this time, it didn't irritate the blond or arouse jealousy inside his core. Instead, it created a wild churning in his gut and a wild beating of his heart, the slipperiness of his palms against the damp grass and dizziness deep in his skull. He leaned a bit closer, their breaths now able to mingle and about half an inch between their noses. Naruto cast his eyes down to Sasuke's thin and pink lips, slightly parted and barely chapped from the cold. His eyes flickered back to the other's again, catching Sasuke's lowered lids for a fraction of a second as he stared at Naruto's lips. Their eyes caught each other again as a moment of pure silence passed by and they both unconsciously leant in closer together, turning their heads-

"Watch out!"

Two hands planted themselves in the middle of Naruto's chest, shoving him backwards so that he had to roll away to prevent hurting his neck. A heavy thud was heard in the area he was sitting before. Naruto turned, quickly making eye contact with Sasuke across from him. His legs were open and braced on the ground, the heels of his boots digging into the ground. He had pushed Naruto away and scooted himself away from the body now between them, breathing heavily as shock caught up with the both of them. Their eyes quickly darted away from each other in embarrassment, the blond's cheeks burning.

They didn't have to make eye contact anymore as Rock Lee blocked their view, straddling the body between them and delivering an alarmingly powerful series of punches that sent the official's neck twisting in every which direction. He grunted with the force of each one, mumbling to himself about the force and power and passion of his youth. Once the official stopped fighting back, his face swollen and bloodied beyond recognition, Lee gripped him by the collar - three silver stars adorning the neck – and yanked him face level to himself only to slam his head harshly into the ground, effectively snapping his neck and giving the body a harsh concussion.

Rock Lee threw his head back and let out a battle cry, unraveling the bandages around his knuckles and throwing the bloody things to the side. He produced some more from the inside of his shirt, rapidly wrapping them around his hands and timing himself as he knotted them. "Seven," he yelled, shaking his head. "how slow of me."

"Bushy Brows…" Naruto said, shocked at the spectacle he had just put on.

"Oh!" Lee shouted, opening his round eyes and dropping his jaw open. "Naruto! Sasuke! Where have you been all this time? We need your youthful energy to f-"

"We know that," Sasuke interrupted. "Sai and us just took down their three guards."

"Smart thinking!" Lee praised, standing up and slapping his hands together, ridding them of the excess bandage powder. "Let us fight together for our freedom!"

Naruto stood wearily, eyeing Lee's slender figure and wondering how he had taken down the huge man by their feet. "Uh… how are things going over there, anyway? Is everyone okay?"

Lee bent to remove his leg weights, tossing them to the side and practicing his stretches. "So far, we have 2 unconscious, Suigetsu and Shino, and Juugo has been shot five times in the stomach. Do not fear his safety, though! Juugo has evolved into a fiery ball of powerful youth. He is a human weapon! He will not even stop at the wrathful fate of Karin's hands-"

"Juugo's evolved into _what_?" Sasuke cut in, giving Lee a concerned look.

"He is sending punches that could break boulders," Lee mimicked a powerful punch in front of him, in between Naruto and Sasuke's chests. "and kicks that could move mountains!" he side kicked the air in front of him.

Sasuke stared into the entrance of the camp, noticing enraged yelling dominating most other yells and nearly matching the volume of gunshots. It was most definitely Juugo, his deep voice scratchy and audible even all the way over here.

"Lee, we need to help Juugo," he said, glancing behind him to find Sai's guard with an open wound in his chest but no sign of his killer. He bothered with no explanation as to exactly why they had to help him. Juugo's business would remain between the ones he had chosen to trust, and Sasuke would respect that.

Juugo was prone to lengthy fits of rage – something Karin had diagnosed but he couldn't recall the name of at the moment. Juugo had always told Sasuke that there was something about his presence that he found calming, and it was up to Sasuke to keep the young man's rage in check. In his regular state, Juugo's personality was equivalent to one of an elementary schooler, kind and calm. But should someone or something upset him, he went completely berserk and destroyed everything in his path until Sasuke was able to intervene that path, effectively stopping him.

But, in this situation, was Juugo hurting the officials or their own camp members? He ran into the camp opening, sure that the officials would be distracted by his large teammate – and surely, they were. There was no definite attraction in any part of the camp, though an assortment of small white knives littered the ground, accompanied by the cringe worthy amount of bullet shells. There were a few appendages scattered around, occasionally interrupted by a large pool of blood and unidentifiable substances.

An alarming amount of their own members were on the ground unconscious or severely injured and groaning. Juugo had thankfully left Karin alone, who was currently kneeling and trying to patch up a nasty compound fracture that Konohamaru was harboring. He was conscious and beet red into the face. Karin had given him a towel to bite on as she pushed his bone back into his skin, apologizing as he screamed and she could only bind his skin together with gauze and not allow him to fight anymore.

A good amount of their camp members had odd welts on various parts on their body. They were most likely caused by Tasers of some sort, obviously from the military officials and their snarky technology. Sasuke snapped himself out of his thoughts and continued to cautiously jog through the camp, weaving through fights of multiple members of their camp against one officer and searching for Juugo. He had evidently hurt their own members, judging by Sakura having to nurse Chouji and Akamaru at once. Kiba was fighting alone against a weaker official, Shikamaru and Ino handling another.

Over half of those officials were dead. Kimimaro, the female, and three other male soldiers were still standing alert and fighting roughly, seeming unwearied by the amount of effort in which they were fighting with.

And with Kimimaro he found Juugo, madly charging the man and wildly hitting him, only to have his attacks dodged.

_Now was his time_, Sasuke thought. He had wished to fight Kimimaro, and his wish was granted. He would put an end to Juugo's rage and take this man's life himself.

"Juugo, snap out of it," Sasuke called, gaining the attention of Kimimaro. The thin hairs on the back of his neck rose with the pending exhilaration of a fight, especially one against a five-star military official. The strange markings on Kimimaro's face made him appear apathetic and serious.

On top of a destroyed tent, Kimimaro stared at Sasuke. The gun barrel was overturned and completely empty, dented in who knows what had happened to it. There were patches of grass missing in evidence of many scuffles and the remnants of a few limbs.

Juugo charged at the man again, yelling obscenities incoherently and raising his fists in what would have been a barrage of powerful punches. But Kimimaro simply held up both of his hands, letting the technology on his wrists absorb the shock and return it to Juugo.

The teen screamed in agony and cradled his hands to his chest. Sasuke's brow furrowed in shock and he stepped away from his teammate, glaring at the man who had brought him pain. The devices on Kimimaro's wrists looked like simple white bracelets, a ring of electric blue softly glowing inside them.

He growled. "Juugo, knock it off," Sasuke demanded, grabbing him by the shirt and yanking him backwards. "Go for a walk. I'll take care of this."

Sasuke waited for no answer. He turned his body fully to Kimimaro, sending him a hard glare straight in the eyes and bracing Kusanagi right in front of himself. There would be no mercy shown in this fight, as it was already apparent by the look in the other man's eyes.

Sasuke never figured out what it was that he had done for his whole family to be exterminated from One. He was merely the age of six. If it was children like him, innocent people like him, that officials like Kimimaro hated so much, then he would certainly make his mark in history. What goes around, comes around. It was simple and basic karma. For all the lives that had been lost at the leather-gloved fingers of Kimimaro, he would certainly add them up – but a life was a life, and it meant more than anything he could ever think of. He knew that this was Naruto perceived life as, reluctant to rob the right of living from someone else in a world like this. But people like Kimimaro…

Said man slightly turned his body to the side, his silvery hair tangling and swaying on his back. His uniform was crisp, torn in a few areas. The five stars on his collar under his strong jawbone sent a mocking wink to Sasuke, the unblemished skin on his face looking pampered and unwrinkled without the thoughts of all those he had killed.

In Sasuke's eyes, he was a vigilante. He could only spend so much of his time brooding and thinking about the lives that had already been lost, and pondering over what his life would have been had Itachi not strained himself to raise his brother. He could only spend so much time imagining what the standoff against one of them would feel like, sound like, _taste_ like – and he was standing there right here, right now. The soft glean of sweat on Kimimaro's face taunted him so much that his jaw tightened and his breath quickened, hatred seeming to bubble up in the core of his being. He _itched_ to show this man what true justice was, to give him a taste of his own medicine. Now he stood right in front of Sasuke, and he was ready to take his treat like a cat that had finally caught the mouse.

His body temperature spiked and his lip curled, holding back a growl that had formed in his chest. He tilted his head down to glare at the man, fixing Kusanagi so that her blade looked as if it was right between his eyes. She would be resting there, in all of her gorgeous glory, if it took him days to fight off this man.

"Stop hiding behind your technology," Sasuke growled.

Kimimaro said nothing, stepping closer to Sasuke and raising his wrist. There, the white trinket still dangled slightly loosely on his wrist. It seemed to activate the moment that Sasuke glanced at it, clicking alive with another series of hollow _ding_s_. _His face was wiped completely of any emotion, numbly gazing at Sasuke as he activated the rest of the tech on his body.

Sasuke was nothing short of enraged. He was worth more than a bored glance, and he certainly wouldn't be underestimated enough to have one look away from him in the midst of a battle. He ground his teeth together and lunged, swinging Kusanagi in a large arc to ensure that he'd damage _something._

Kimimaro quickly raised his arm in a block, his blade sharply deflecting off of his wrist device. Surprisingly, pain didn't shoot through his arm as it had appeared to Juugo. He made the instinctive mistake of raising his left foot in a side kick once his upper body was left open, shoving his weight harshly into Kimimaro's stomach hard enough to leave a nasty bruise and perhaps cause internal damage.

Pain immediately shot up his whole foot, ankle, and simmered in his calve – he grunted loudly but let his foot fall gently onto the ground, disappointment in himself surging in his chest. His boot steadied his ankle. So it was true that some sort of device on Kimimaro's body reflected pain back into his source – whether the man was experiencing it or not, he couldn't tell. But the catch of it seemed to be metal, seeing as how fighting with a knife or sword was highly unpopular.

The few seconds Sasuke had allowed his thoughts to consume him were all it took for Kimimaro to quickly approach him, a white rod of glossy Sector material whistling with blue energy coming down over his head.

Sasuke quickly flipped Kusanagi's blade in his hand, shifting it to the blunt side that he could hold over his head. He caught the baton inches away from his forehead, his blade immediately going through half of the electric baton and sending vibrations through the metal of his sword. Kimimaro pressed down once again as Sasuke pushed up, his palm becoming sore from where it was supporting Kusanagi; the baton sizzled as her blade cut through a good two thirds of it, a few sparks of blue electricity falling on his shoulder and burning his skin. He yelled in pain, the blue liquid scorching his skin and making distraction for himself.

Sasuke pushed on the blade with his left hand and completely sliced through the baton, half of it flying to his right and the other being dropped on the ground by Kimimaro. His arm swung with Kusanagi and his opponent immediately made a sharp punch for Sasuke's chest, successfully winding him with just two knuckles. He coughed and dodged the next kick Kimimaro had prepared for him, raising his chokutō in another wild arc that he felt drag and catch along the skin of Kimimaro's stomach. It was like cutting taut and thick paper, the metal blade wobbling once it detached from its burrow in his stomach.

The other growled, his uniform torn open to reveal the muscle-deep and horizontal cut all along his stomach. Sasuke snorted, easily blocking the next few hits Kimimaro tried to send.

Each and every time, he aimed for Kimimaro's neck or head. Anything that would get him closer to dead. But he would either kick the chokutō and intercept it from its route, or distract Sasuke with yet another military technology antic that was frankly a waste of time and showed off the little fight he had. It was like his whole body went on autopilot, numbly thinking about his brother but still taking the bruising punches and kicks to his body and face, his vision able to interpret the other's next move. He twisted and shifted his body, cornering Kimimaro with his natural aggression and becoming more frustrated with the few, although lethal, hits he landed. Since the stomach jab, he had sliced a nice fish mouth cut across Kimimaro's face, going through one eye, across his nose, and ending at the opposite jaw side. Half of his face was covered in blood, gushing out as he breathed a bit heavier and his heart pounded harder. He had, in a blind rage, managed to catch Kimimaro in a chokehold for just a few seconds before the pain of the hold travelled up his own arm and managed to get to his own neck; it was confirmed that Kimimaro could feel the pain himself, though it was reciprocated upon the inflictor.

Now Sasuke had gained a small cut above his eyebrow that seemed to bleed a dramatic amount of blood, burning his left eye and forcing him to shut it. He had some trouble breathing from the punches Kimimaro had managed to land on his throat and chest, weakly clenching his stomach from a powerful kick in the abdomen. Sweat plastered his hair to the sides of his face and burned his open eye, though Sasuke wasn't completely sure if it was his own sweat or an accumulation of both his and Kimimaro's. He wouldn't stop sending fluid jabs and arcs and stabs at the other man, though, for his eye was a minor problem.

He panted and glared up at the other man, slightly nauseated by the sight of the other's face; he hadn't flinched when he received the slice, either. Kimimaro's eyes glinted madly and he whipped out what looked like a small trident, made of a rough material Sasuke had never seen before. He was confused as he caught Kusanagi between one of its teeth, quickly turning it and sending half of her blade over their heads and behind them.

Sasuke nearly gaped in shock, watching her glint in the sun as she imbedded deeply into a nearby tree trunk. But he had less than a second to try to comprehend what had just happened, having to quickly turn so that the mysterious trident wouldn't make any contact with his body. The other man's energy seemed to skyrocket, throwing attacks more efficiently and fluidly than he had before, shoving Sasuke backwards and knocking the wind out of him.

Every time he blocked, a ringing pain was sent deep into his bones and he screamed with the effort of holding back his attacks. He couldn't, without Kusanagi, attack the other man; he would only hurt himself three times worse than what he had intended to. Sasuke was continuously pushed back, racking his minds for attempts to fight back without hurting himself. He was slowing down with exhaustion as he thought, breathing heavily and covered in sweat as his blocks became more and more minute.

Kimimaro ducked in what Sasuke thought was going to be a crotch shot, his mind lazily muddled by the lingering pain of Kimimaro's attacks and still clouded over with the loss of Itachi. He was suddenly on his back, his breath painfully knocked out of him, staring into the gray sky. His view was quickly replaced with Kimimaro's meaty face, his glossy silver hair now filthy and matted with clumps of blood, chopped in layers from where Kusanagi had missed.

Sasuke choked. Kimimaro's fingers were wrapped boldly around his neck, squeezing his trachea and filling Sasuke's chest with panic instead of air. He could feel each individual and rough pad of his fingers, his nails already creating crescents and bruises on his neck. Kimimaro only glared down at him, straddling his torso, and furrowed his brows in the first sign of distress he had shown through their whole fight.

He wheezed, clawing at Kimimaro's fingers and wrists. He tried the antic Naruto had pulled on Neji earlier, but that only dug his fingers deeper into Sasuke's neck. He didn't dare to twist the other's wrist to break it – it would only break the skin on his neck and he would be strangled further. But now Kimimaro leant his whole upper body weight on Sasuke's neck, sighing as he simply rested on top of him.

Sasuke kicked his legs out, frantically trying to shove Kimimaro away and extend his neck for air. His chest heaved and he croaked multiple times, his eye burning and his heart only beating faster and faster. He arched his back and shoved the heels of his boots into the ground, sinking into the slosh and mud and tilting his head back for oxygen. This time, he would have no blood to worry about, seeing as he wasn't losing too much – but this felt horrible.

His lungs ached and the corners of his vision turned black, panic making his eyes water and wheezes go into his throat more easily. All the while he scowled at Kimimaro, using his hands to tear at the skin on his forearms, his biceps flexing as he struggled to push the man away. His shoulder ached, his face ached, his whole body ached, and he came to the realization that, just like in the past and just right now, he was completely and utterly helpless.

"I wanted you alive, but you have too much of a fighting spirit," Kimimaro muttered, glaring straight into Sasuke's eyes and breathing heavily through his nose.

The weight of his grieves fell upon him once again though he didn't have enough oxygen to accommodate them. His family… his brother… his confusing orientations and the calming presence of Kakashi that he'd probably never again feel…

Sasuke felt like vomiting. He had no idea how he'd managed to last this long. He didn't know if he had stopped kicking his legs because there wasn't enough oxygen in his system to or if he had stopped by his own choice. Now he weakly gripped Kimimaro's wrists, gazing into apathetic gray eyes.

A gravelly voice in the back of his mind repeated his mantra as his fingertips molded into Kimimaro's skin. He remembered… something. He had something. Something important for his life, and his back hurt, his lungs hurt, his bones hurt.

_We can't stop fighting. _

His lungs had never hurt more. His whole body was at a fever pitch, his stomach tense under Kimimaro's weight. The man stared into his face dully, evidently waiting for him to fall limp for a good few minutes.

_You don't have to do it alone._

_Got it?_

Sasuke's eyes widened. Actually, he didn't "got it" at all. He was weak and under a high-ranking military officer who hadn't put up that much of a fight in the first damn place. He was under a high-ranking military official, mourning his long-dead family and the betrayal of his brother. He was annoyed that Naruto would butt into his conscience like this, bossing him around and dominating most of his decisions.

Technically, he wasn't alone. Kimimaro was sitting on top of him and he was sure there was a dead body lying somewhere. Maybe their spirit was still hanging around. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Naruto innocently wanted to be closer to him, to be there for him in times like this.

He dropped his hands to the grass and quickly uprooted some of it, screwing his face up in a façade of giving up. He only had a maximum of a minute of life left, and he might as well try to get it back. Though his vision was half black and completely blurred, he thought he could at least maneuver around. He discreetly slipped his hand lower to his pocket, cursing himself for allowing such a fact to leave him at a time like this.

His fingers caressed the cold metal of Naruto's Jericho, and he vaguely remembered quickly stuffing it in his pocket right after killing a guard and finding it on the ground. He had thought he'd return it to Naruto, but had gotten… distracted…

He quickly dipped his finger inside his pocket to make sure the safety was off. It was a wander how it hadn't shot off during their scuffle. Sasuke was lucky indeed. He wrapped his index finger inside the trigger and gently pulled it out of his pocket, sliding it on the ground under his palm and choking dramatically. His pupils dilated seriously and he was sure a few blood vessels had burst in his face from struggling already.

It was now or never, he thought, just like everything else always was. Sasuke finally picked up the gun, though he found himself too weak to lift it but a few inches from the ground. Thankfully, Kimimaro did not notice but chose to spit out some blood to Sasuke's left. His heart pounded in his ears and he felt like he was floating, asleep but not dreaming; the heat on his torso more noticeable as he lost his own.

His muscles strained as he did his best job of propping his lower arm up on his elbow, holding up the gun straight into what he thought was Kimimaro's face. Everything right now was nothing but a gray and green blur, interrupted by black dots dancing across his vision. Messily aiming, he believed he had pulled the trigger as a gunshot pierced the air. His finger was swollen and lazy, and maybe the gunshot had been off with timing if he had pulled it, but the weight on his torso fell to the side and his throat was finally let go.

Sasuke gasped, coughing dryly as air hit his throat for the first time in a while. His eyes watered more as he seemed to choke more than he actually did when he was being strangled, quickly sitting up and wheezing roughly. He clutched his own chest, squeezing his eyes shut as a barrage of footsteps mingled together far away and some more yells were heard. But weren't they done fighting?

"Sasuke!" a familiar voice yelled out, coming closer and closer as he repeated his name.

He tried to remember the best way to breathe, tilting his own head slightly back to open his airway as Karin had taught him CPR. It brought some more oxygen into his pathway, serving him a hell of a lot more justice. He finally felt the cold wind against the thick layer of sweat on his neck, burning his throat and chapping his lips.

"Sas-" Naruto probably skidded to a stop, immediately falling to his knees next to his friend. His hands hovered over the bruises around Sasuke's neck, quickly debating himself what part of Sasuke he should grab to portray his worry. He lifted his shirt slightly and wiped the blood out of Sasuke's eye, wincing at the amount that he had lost.

But he awkwardly set both of his hands on his ground, quickly remembering what had happened before and blushing heavily. He gently patted his friend on the back and glanced at the mangled body to his left. Nasty… But Sasuke really had killed Kimimaro, hadn't he? It seemed like the boy never broke his promises.

"We need to go," Naruto rushed him, gently shaking his shoulder and grabbing his wrists.

Sasuke allowed himself to be pulled up, finally opening his eyes and glancing down at the dead body of Kimimaro, a bullet wound on either side of his head and grey matter spilling thinly onto the ground. He wished he had more time to revel in the sight.

Naruto grabbed his arm and threw it around his shoulder, basically tugging Sasuke along with him.

"What?" he asked, his hearing blocked by the pounding of his blood in his ears.

"We needa go," the blond said again, tripping over a leg and nearly slipping on a stray gun.

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto…"

He cast his friend yet another worried look, slowing down and glancing to the center of the camp where a congregation of people had formed. He had no idea where Sasuke had ran off to after conversing with Lee, finding Juugo wandering around in the woods, confused and alone.

It was all too much to explain to Sasuke right now, too much for him to take in. Maybe they would both get completely filled in later. Ino had rushed him to find his friend, though, and anybody else who would be counted in their camp total for the recruiters.

Naruto couldn't process it himself, feeling tired and a bit shocked at the last few days of events. Sasuke suddenly slumped slightly, dragging them both down with his weight. Naruto pushed them off of the ground with his fist.

"I've got some pretty good news for ya," the blond grunted and struggled to hold up his friend, covered in blood and Kami knows what else. They neared the center of the camp, a few familiar and new figures standing in a tense circle.

"K'kashi…?"

"All of 'em," Naruto smiled. "They brought us some friends, too."

* * *

><p>AN: What's it with me and cliffhangers? Ehh. Honestly, thank you guys so much for all of the reviews! I really love it when I hear your feedback, it really boosts my confidence in my writing. No joke. So after we hit 100k words, can we get S5 to 100 reviews? I even put a treat in here for you guys.

To a guest reviewer: I really hope you read chapters 11-16, then? I think a lot of Sasuke's and everyone else's characterization was explained between those chapters. It would certainly eliminate a lot of your confusion if you read them. Though I believe Sasuke is more than the typical "hn's"and sarcastic remarks. I'm just voicing more of what he thinks, but yeah... read those chapters. I like to believe that I've amplified most of the character's actual traits. Naruto's amnesia isn't a nuisance - it all ties up with the plot, I promise. Thanks for your review, I hope you see this and stick around to leave another. I hope ya understand.

Okay, well, 'til next week my readers! :)


	19. Scar Tissue

Chapter 18: Scar Tissue

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><p>Sasuke coughed, wincing when his raw throat protested. "What friends?" He asked, his voice slightly raspy and giving out every few words.<p>

"Eh…" Naruto shrugged his arm, hiking Sasuke from his slouching posture. "I guess you'll see when we meet 'em."

He slightly tsk'ed his tongue in irritation. His neck ached as it was jolted with each step he took with the support of Naruto towards the center of the camp. Kakashi's tall figure was coming more into focus now, holding a hurried conversation with Karin and Juugo. He was unknowingly standing in the ashes of their bleak inferno, finally brought to an end by this horrid attack. By his side were Jiraiya and Gai, chattering amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to the destruction behind them. However, Tsunade was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke had expected her to drag all of the past days out of Sakura, but the girl was nowhere to be found, either.

Naruto glanced down at Sasuke, at the dark bruises interrupting the pale skin on his throat and the dry, brown streaks of blood on his temple and spread on his cheek. For Kami's sake, _why_ the hell didn't he chase after Sasuke? Why did he stay behind to listen to a useless report that Lee had given him on the gun count of the officials? Why did he stay behind to tell Sai that he was glad he stayed with the group when, instead, he could have backed Sasuke up? Naruto lacked the words to explain the amount of unadulterated _fear_ that had washed his blood cold when he thought Sasuke was dead under Kimimaro.

After all, the only one that would put up with him was looking ghastly pale under a figure in a crisp but torn uniform. The one that would listen to him ramble after long days during the cold nights with their backs turned to each other, and sometimes face to face. But when their backs were turned and he heard the fluidity of Sasuke's words, inspirational and thought out, he couldn't decide if he was jealous of them or strongly attracted to not only his looks but Sasuke's _being_ as well. He was overwhelmed with relief and gratitude to whoever it was that had finally ended Kimimaro's life – he couldn't even recall which side of Kimimaro's head had been split open when the bullet escaped. The only thing on his mind was that he had possibly_ failed_ his best friend. Friends were supposed to be there at all times for each other. But there he went again, confusion sending his mind reeling. His hand felt shaky on Sasuke's side, his heart faint and his head going nearly haywire. As he spotted Jiraiya in front of them, Naruto made a mental note to ask him about his own health.

Kakashi turned to them, grimacing as his eyes immediately darted to Sasuke and then sparing a glance to Naruto. The man was sweaty and looked exhausted, wielding a nasty welt on his temple.

"Sasuke, Naruto," he said hurriedly, quickly but roughly laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder and transferring Sasuke to his own. The boy didn't seem to look too happy with the sudden change of positions and scowled and Kakashi attempted to pick him up like a child.

Before he could even open his mouth to protest Kakashi's actions, a familiar voice was nagging in his ear and the zipper of his sweater was being pulled down even further.

Sasuke was sat down on a suspiciously smelling log and immediately fussed over by Karin. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that Kakashi was looking at him with pity. He could feel it in the own sinking of his heart into his stomach and the usual way he felt when someone stared at him, the subconscious realization of someone else's stare. Kakashi's single eye, although he attempted to put up a front of curiosity, held deeper volumes of concern and empathy for Sasuke. Unfortunately, that wasn't what he wanted right now, and it certainly wasn't what he wanted. He had already gone through an emotionally exhausting conversation with Naruto, and that was all he needed. Sasuke simply wanted to sleep.

He regarded Karin with slight confusion and detachment, having no reaction when she spread the cut above his eyebrow to have a look for lodged items or a need of stitches. It burned nonetheless and pins prickled the back of his neck. She murmured something under her breath that Sasuke couldn't hear. He listened to the soft conversations around him, the occasional grunt of pain and the painful gust of cold wind in his gashes.

He finally realized how exhausted his body was and how heavy his limbs felt. Naruto said something to him, but he sounded muffled and Sasuke couldn't be bothered to answer him. Karin's fingers felt cold on his forehead, spreading triple antibiotics above his eyebrow and placing butterfly closures on his gash.

Sasuke, just this once, let it slip when Karin ran her fingers a bit too slowly over his uninjured lips. She pressed her fingers along and beside his jaw as well, lifting his hair out of the way to inspect his ears.

"Tilt your head back," she murmured, crouching in front of him and craning her neck so that she could get a better look at the ovular bruises on his neck. Sure enough, there were two large ones just half an inch apart from each other on Sasuke's Adam's apple. Karin winced and thanked Kami that her friend was sitting in front of her at this moment, though he looked sullenly tired and was practically nodding off right there.

Naruto supported Sasuke's head so he wouldn't have to strain his neck. He made a weak attempt to slap Naruto's hand away and quietly grumbled his disapproval, turning his head away from his hand.

Karin leant over Sasuke and glanced at the back of his neck, finding eight more consecutive bruises and slight crescents of nails. She sighed and raised both of her hands, running her fingers over them to check for swelling. Then she placed each one over all eight bruises, aligning the wide fingerprints and leaning back to see the front of Sasuke's neck-

The blond suppressed a gasp and held his hand out, stopping short as to not smack her square in the chest. Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he quickly shoved her back into Kakashi, raising his hands to his own neck-

"Hey!" Naruto called, grabbing his friend on the shoulder to snap him out of it. He shook Sasuke slightly, effectively making his hands fall from his neck and dark eyes focus on him. A muscle in the other's jaw jumped.

Behind the inner workings of Sasuke's mind, he weakly reminded himself that this was Karin, his longtime teammate, friend, and sister figure. She was an excellent medic. She wouldn't ever attempt to intentionally hurt him, and this certainly wasn't the case. He was just overreacting, remembering the bulge of Kimimaro's veins out of the backs of his hands from the corner of his eye. He was only back on the ground in the forest for a few seconds, and then Naruto grabbed his shoulder.

He glanced at Naruto, noticing that his breathing had ceased and that Kakashi was holding Karin by the shoulders, all of them waiting for some sort of response from him. Slowly, he inhaled a deep breath and lamely returned his hands to his side, irritated that he had put himself in the spotlight.

"I'm sorry…" Karin said, shyly pushing her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose. "I wasn't thinking."

Sasuke simply nodded once, gently scratching at the tender area on his temple. He didn't fail to notice that Naruto's hand hadn't left his shoulder and the three were _still_ staring at him, Karin and Kakashi holding a pitiful and patient expression and Naruto a bold and encouraging one.

"Karin, why don't you take care of that cut on Naruto's shoulder? I'll patch Sasuke up from here," Kakashi said, patting her on the back a few times.

Karin nodded and sent a fleeting glance towards Sasuke out of the corner of her eye, leading Naruto to another first aid kit on the log parallel from Kakashi and Sasuke.

The man sent him a patronizing look with his single eye, lowering all of himself onto one knee and resting his arm on his kneecap to dangle his hand between his legs. "What was that about?"

"I'm sure you've already heard the word," Sasuke grumbled, his voice still raspy. His throat felt like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other as he swallowed, no different than when he spoke.

Kakashi hummed and turned around, unlatching a canteen of water from his belt loop and twisting the cap off. He held the camouflaged print flask to Sasuke, dipping his head.

He narrowed his eyes and grasped the canteen, inspecting the subtle crow's foot on Kakashi's single visible eye. He tilted it back and swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, not exactly soothing his throat, but refreshing it nonetheless.

"What is the word?" Kakashi asked softly, his single eye alight with mirth. "I'm not very caught up with the hip words you kids are into."

Sasuke scowled and cursed the tall man. On a single knee, Kakashi was only an inch higher than Sasuke's head from his position on the log. He was looking down at him. "I'm still sure as hell you know I took on Kimimaro."

"Sasuke!" Kakashi looked more concerned than ever. "Do you know-"

"Yes, I know," Sasuke stubbornly interrupted and capped his canteen. "that's exactly why I took him on."

"And nearly died because of it," Kakashi's eyes flickered to the bruises on his neck. "What would Itachi say?"

"Don't talk about him," he snapped and stared at his own boot, his body temperature peaking.

"You need to face it," Kakashi chided and leant away from him, scratching his chin. He observed Sasuke with curiosity and a mocking knowledge. "Now, have you been sleeping?"

"Of course I have," Sasuke immediately brushed off Kakashi's questions. He was accustomed to this man's constant mind games.

"You know…" the man said, relaxing on his haunches and capturing his eyes. "I went through the same thing with my best friend."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"Your lingering memories," Kakashi murmured, regarding the boy calmly. "about Kimimaro, not Itachi. I-"

"I told you that I've been sleeping already," Sasuke said in a hushed voice. "and that I took all my damn medicines. I'm just tired-"

"You just need to talk," the man fired back and tilted his head, raising his eyebrow with startling authority. He seemed to want to cut to the chase today. "and I don't think you've even made an attempt to."

Sasuke leant back and furrowed his brows, regarding Kakashi cautiously. A muscle in his arm betrayed the apathetic mask on his face. If only the man knew. He remembered all of Naruto's touchiness and his mushy words. If that wasn't enough, then he didn't know what was.

"Contrary to your popular belief," he dug the toe of his boot in the ground out of irritation, "I already talked to Naruto. I don't need another one of your psychology lessons."

Kakashi actually looked surprised for a few seconds, his dark eye widening slightly and closely inspecting both of Sasuke's. "You have?"

He nodded. Kakashi always seemed to know when he was telling the truth or speaking a lie. The man obviously had some past expertise in the art of interrogation, but whenever Sasuke and the others pestered him about it, he'd always say that he was just a natural. Sasuke had no doubt that this man had been a Sector guard himself before and had escaped before things became… violent. It was evident in the way he spoke and in his fighting style, in the way he always made decision all too wisely and quickly, and in the way his eyes looked as if the man were hundreds of years old already.

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head, pushing his left hand off the ground to stand up and rub his hands off of each other. "Well, I'd never think that I'd see the day, Sasuke."

Sasuke raised both of his eyebrows and watched Kakashi open up the first aid kit by his feet. "The day of what?"

Kakashi chuckled to himself again. Frankly, this man's games pissed Sasuke off, and he wanted an end to them right now. He wouldn't be the kitten to take the yarn so Kakashi could milk some confessions out of him.

"Well," the man gestured for Sasuke to tilt his head back again. "in all honesty, the day you would open up to someone. I should have noticed it would be Naruto, but I'm still surprised regardless. I kind of expected this out of you, Sasu."

Sasuke scowled at the nickname and took in Kakashi's words with precise analyzation. What on earth could he possibly be getting at? "Expected what out of me?" he asked, already a bit offended.

Kakashi dabbed a cooling gel over the bruises on his neck and smiled. "Oh… nothing important."

The boy glared at the shock of silver hair in front of him. Did this mean that the man would finally stop bugging him for "meaningful talks" and all the vague and shady stories from his past, as well?

Kakashi stepped over the log and held a few locks of Sasuke's hair away from the nape of his neck to put a thin layer of gel over the bruises there. He impatiently watched and listened as Naruto unleashed his colorful vocabulary while Karin poured hydrogen peroxide over the modest gash on his back a few feet away. Sasuke suspected it to be from a low hanging branch, his theory supported by the few pieces of bark Karin yanked out.

"I think you're the only one behind on a few things."

Sasuke sighed. Not again.

"What is it _now_?" He breathed, exasperated.

The other man hummed. "Well, I guess I won't explain it to you, but rather have it explain itself to you."

A vein in Sasuke's head bulged. He was seriously over this man's mind games. He didn't want any damn banter or riddles within ten feet of him at the moment. His mind just wasn't up to the challenge, deprived of sleep and partial oxygen.

"Sergeant!"

His face fell at the title. Sergeant? Were there still military officials on their land? He turned his head in the direction Kakashi had yelled in.

A woman now stood directly behind him, dressed to the nines in an odd maroon pantsuit and strange shoulder tassels. Behind her were two men, one whose face was ridiculously covered in what looked like a child's finger paint job and the other tanned to the danger of melanoma and matching sun-bleached hair.

"You were missing this one, Kakashi?" she replied, an easy look on her face but with an intense and firm look in her eyes. She was robust and self-assured.

"Sasuke," the silver-haired man nodded. "this is Sergeant Suna. The reason we weren't here for a few days… Jiraiya originally got into contact with her a few months ago-"

"And harassed me into bringing my men over here," Suna finished boldly and fixed her dark green eyes onto Sasuke. She gave off such an impression that Sasuke was sure Kakashi wouldn't attempt to finish his sentence, and he didn't question rising from his seat. Her face was strikingly familiar, though, and Sasuke couldn't recall where he had seen it before…

"I'm going to be very straightforward with you," she deadpanned. "I'm very tired of telling this story over and over again as your camp seems to multiply every few minutes. I'm going to cut it short…" she pulled a small device from her pocket and a roll of paper was handed to her by a man behind her. "and get to the point."

Kakashi chuckled beside them. "Now, Lady Suna-"

"I won't hear it, Hatake," she interrupted once again. Suna wasn't exactly the largest woman, a few inches shorter than Sasuke and looking to be just over one hundred and ten pounds. What she lacked in physical traits was certainly made up for in her personality and behavior.

"Look around yourself," Suna said to him, slightly impatiently. "Do you see this as a home anymore?"

Sasuke didn't need to look behind himself to know that there was torn tents and personal belonging strewn and mixed with blood. He had already witnessed just a fraction of it. They also had no food or water, and now that the snow was melting, there was no means of fire for this camp. He didn't exactly know what he expected to return to after all of this happened, but that wasn't in the front of his mind as he took on Kimimaro. "No."

"I'm sorry for your loss," she grumbled. "Jiraiya over there somehow tracked my men and I. Idiot, he is. Blabbering about all the military checkpoint myths and their shelter."

Sasuke's heart sank. The checkpoints… were merely myths? All of their details had seemed plausible and credible in the past. They weren't often spoken of, like a wish that might not come true if you spoke of it.

"Not exactly myths," she corrected herself. "The ones I have invaded are used for recreational purposes like storage and… testing, you could say. Prototypes of the Sectors' new technology. Those who haven't attempted to enter one are lucky. It was a dead end for those that believed."

"I have my own kingdom of working bees similar to that," Suna held the paper out to him.

It was a blueprint, slick paper that only the Sectors provided. Sasuke glanced to her bored face and back down to his fingers to unroll the long paper.

At first, he was slightly confused. For a moment, a wave of embarrassment washed over him as he thought he was holding the blueprint upside down. But the words were right side up…

"Yes, it's underground," Suna said. "For means of safety from the Sectors, this is unheard of to them. Their strategies for attack are…" she winced. "well, let's just say that when the Sectors let us go, they didn't just lose their population. They lost most of their brains."

A victim that had made a stand, Sasuke saw.

"I can already tell that you're a smart one," Suna chuckled. "The reason why the infirmary is closest to the surface of the earth…"

"Just think about it, I guess. I built this myself, but don't shun the credits to my men, and with efficient strategy. With the healthiest and strongest on the lowest level of this whole building and majority of our population on the second. But the sick and injured… if we were ever to be invaded, or an earthquake was to destroy the foundation, we lose the weakest ones first. Of course, not without a fight, which I guess you'll see why if you agree to recruit. It's strategy, not cruelty, by the way. That leaves our strongest population to dig themselves out and restart a new generation, a new foundation.

"You have a choice whether you would like to come with us or not, like I said before," she raised a hand. "I think we all know that in this world, we have complete free will."

Kakashi nodded empathetically. He harbored admiration for this woman's actions and steps towards all of this…

"That leaves us - with what we've always had, by the way – with a fighting spirit and a yearning to explore the unknown and challenge the impossible."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure that he had caught on with this woman's rapid explanation of what seemed to be her recruit camp. "And what is the point of this?"

Kakashi shot him a warning glance and tensed, notifying Sasuke that he had done something wrong. The men behind Suna shifted their arms to their sides and glared at him. The atmosphere became tense as Suna raised her flaxen eyebrow and gazed at Sasuke firmly.

She looked at her own shoes. Silence washed over them for a few moments and the two men behind Suna glanced at each other, sharing a look that didn't give much away to their thoughts at all. The smaller of the two placed a hand on her shoulder, opening his mouth.

She chuckled, her shoulders quaking with each short laugh. Her guard slowly took his hand away from her shoulder and returned it to his side, stepping a respectful distance away from her and resuming his glare at Sasuke. Suna raised her head and fully smiled, shaking her head at the pale boy in front of her and reaching her hand towards his shoulder.

"Now I definitely want you in one of my divisions," she smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "more blunt than I could ever hope to be."

"If you were politely wondering, all of my recruits are given a healing window and immediately put into conditioning for division testing. All of you are immediately signed up for various missions I need done around there. They can range from floor cleanup to invading a Sector for their technology, information, and goods. Whatever reputation you earn yourself, the higher ranks of missions you get. Also depends on what division you're in, since I tend to assign the heavier tasks to the stronger or larger ones. But there's not a day in the Center where you're not doing something productive. All I'm warning you is that, if you join us, you're in for the ride of your life."

Sasuke nodded as she spoke, processing the information she spurted and occasionally glancing down to the blueprint of her building. This…. Center, as she called it, was definitely an opposite idea of the "freedom" Kabuto had stuck in his mind. He and the others he took with him would live a pointless and unbeneficial life...

His thoughts took a nasty detour back to his brother and he shook his head slightly.

"So what do you say?" Suna tilted her head back and smirked. "Join us or not? You learn more once you join, by the way.

Sasuke's eye twitched. And she said that he had a choice. Suna was bribing him with knowledge, which was a path that Itachi had always taken with him. He pictured himself in that building, doing whatever the hell Suna's orders applied. But, before he could stop himself, he subconsciously glanced to his side for Naruto's answer. Of course the blond wasn't there, but he happened to be sulking across from them in the direction that Sasuke had glanced in. He cursed himself for his reflex and he could practically _feel_ the upturn of Kakashi's eyes.

"Ah…" Suna smirked and let a smug leer come across her face. "That's your pal, huh?"

Oh, he begged Kami to shoot him. There was no point in even opening his mouth as he willed a flush of anger down to the sound of Kakashi muffling a giggle with a fake sneeze.

"Attached by the hip," the man put his two cents in and grinned at Sasuke.

Suna snorted and crossed her arms, sending Sasuke a sly look and tilting her head to the blond. "So you wanna know what Naruto said."

She cast her eyes to the sky and scratched her chin, all the while holding a mischievous expression that sent Sasuke off the rail.

He grunted and ground his teeth together. "Can we move on?"

"Relax a little," Suna drawled. "after all, if you say yes, you're in good hands."

"Why did you do this?" Sasuke asked out of irritation. His voice was full once again and now he felt a bit more confident in himself, ready to shoot Kakashi down should the man make a sly comment.

Suna seemed taken aback by the question. She had probably been expecting an immediate answer from Sasuke, not an abrupt subject change. She glanced behind herself and to the two guards, sharing a look with both of them and turning back around.

"What a weird question," she said quietly and raised an eyebrow at him. "but I guess, since you asked, you're expecting an answer."

Sasuke nodded. His hair felt tangled from where he had been rolling on the ground in his own and others' sweat and blood. Trust him, nothing sounded better than shelter with an illegal system of energy and working sewage pipes. But to him, this woman needed an earnest reason for him to consider giving her an answer…

"I had a brother," she said quietly. "he was five years younger than me. We lived in Two. Ever since the extermination of the people…" she shrugged. "we were separated. Behind me is my other brother, and we have been looking for him for the past ten years. I guess the impact of his absence really got to me and stirred up the need to help others that are lost. There's not a moment that goes by where I think he's dead, so he's not. It's our sibling bond. Family doesn't give up on each other."

He narrowed his eyes at Suna and at the familiar shape of her face. It was unhealthy to harbor such a sight about her brother's death. Ten years of absence? That was ridiculous – in his opinion, that brother had only about a one to two percent chance of survival on his own. If he were five years younger than this woman in front of him ten years ago, that would make the boy anywhere in between the ages of four and ten. No child could survive like that out here, and most importantly of all, alone. He glanced at the tall man behind her, his face almost completely square and baring little to no resemblance to her own delicate features. The only thing they had in common was their eye color, though they were both different hues of green.

"What's your first name?" Sasuke asked.

Suna now stared at Sasuke, contemplating why on earth he would be asking that question. It was rare that she was questioned for her first name in the first place – most recruits assumed that Suna was her first name, and if anybody were to ask, she'd take on a pseudonym for her family's safety. But now it seemed like the days of easily fooling others were coming to an end as her chat with this Sasuke became longer and longer.

Kakashi discreetly elbowed him in the ribs, an obvious indicator that Sasuke had done something wrong yet again. But to him, a question was a question and an answer deserved to be a valid one.

She narrowed her eyes. "Why do you need to know that?"

Sasuke didn't answer and continued to stare at her, expecting an answer within the next few moments. It was best not to let her change the subject and Sasuke, though quiet and reclusive, could easily recognize certain body languages. Suna was evidently suspicious and, if he remembered correctly, the way her pupils dilated indicated that she was slightly nervous. But without the body language or not, she was very good at concealing her emotions – as expected of a leader figure like her.

"Temari."

Sasuke blinked. He didn't recognize the name from anywhere. Maybe his mind had played a trick on him?

"Neither of us recognizes your name," Kakashi said softly, offering her a respectful nod. "perhaps telling the others might help."

"What was your brother's name?"

"Sasuke," Kakashi snapped and sent him a warning look. "That's enough."

Frankly, Sasuke had had it with all of the scolding from the perverted man. If there was a question to be asked, why not ask it? In fact, he found answers to be pretty damn useful. Even though his questions might not be polite all the time, they couldn't be considered intrusive or threatening. He was simply wondering.

Temari sighed and looked behind herself at her brother. He was obviously an aggressive man, a story told by the deep scars on his face and the venomous glare he was sending Sasuke.

"The point of this whole conversation was to recruit you," the blonde grumbled.

"Gaara…" the man behind her suddenly grumbled.

A look of shock came over Sasuke's face. He glanced over to Kakashi, whose face had become amazingly expressive for one half covered in spandex. Their sights connected and a hush fell over the small gathering. Kami… Sasuke would have never expected such a moment like this to fall upon them.

"What is it?" the man behind Temari spoke up again. "You look like you know something!"

"Kankuro," Temari said softly. "don't get excited. They may not even know him."

"Sergeant Suna…" Kakashi began pulled the patch off of his left eye. It had been a while since Sasuke had seen the thick scar over that eye. His own felt heavy and slightly burned.

"We do know him," the man pocketed his eye patch. "or we did."

Temari seemed to be indecisive of how to react – she was caught in some sort of odd mixture of anger, confusion, sadness and joy. Sasuke observed her cautiously as she visibly swallowed and licked her lips, her eyes only widening for a few seconds.

"Gaara?" she asked, her hand suspended in midair at a height Sasuke recognized as a small child's. "What does he look like?"

"Red hair, green eyes," Kakashi simply stated. "Neigh tall…" he held his hand up to his shoulder and held it there. "maybe just a bit over a hundred pounds."

Temari sighed shakily and closed her eyes, biting her lip. "He's always been so malnourished… that has to be him…"

"Why didn't we hear about this earlier from any of you?" Kankuro interrupted, appearing to be a bit frustrated.

"We did report to you that five disbanded from us," Kakashi replied. "but you never asked their names."

"Who was he friends with?" Temari suddenly asked and turned back to the scattered population of their camp. "I need to talk to them."

Sasuke glanced to the ground and then back at the blonde. "Naruto was, but…"

"Naruto," she called and turned to the snoozing boy across from them. His head bobbed in his sleep as he slept sitting up against a log, his head falling onto his shoulder over and over again before swaying to a slightly upright position again.

His friend looked stupid when he slept, Sasuke thought. "Naruto!"

Said boy's head snapped upright and his eyes fluttered open, his hands raising from his sides and spreading his fingers out. "What?" Naruto mouthed repeatedly as he struggled to completely wake up, fumbling with his blanket.

"Please come here," Kakashi demanded rather than asked. "it's very important."

Naruto finally stood up and messily draped his blanket over the log, mentally promising it that he would be back later. Glancing towards where the Sergeant, her companions, Kakashi and Sasuke were standing, he frowned and wondered what the situation could possibly be.

He approached the group tentatively. "Yes?" his eyes darted from Suna and finally stayed on Sasuke, sending him a questioning look. He looked frazzled and well past the marker of exhaustion.

"Were you friends with Gaara?" Suna suddenly asked, fixing her hard gaze upon him as she expected an immediate answer.

"Yeah?" he said. "I guess I was, anyway. Actually, just about a month ago I-"

"Oh my goodness," she breathed and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders, nearly dislocating them with her strong grip.

"Uh, yeah. So just about a month ago, I was travelling-"

"In which way did he leave with Kabuto?" the Sergeant interrupted once again. She was leaning heavily on Naruto and he dug his heels into the ground to prevent himself from toppling over.

Naruto held up his finger and squinted his eyes. "Uhh… that way," he pointed to his right, the exit Kabuto and his cronies had used to abandon their camp. He hoped that she didn't bring Itachi up in this conversation. "Like I was saying, we were-"

"Kankuro, send our trackers back here tomorrow. With the hounds, as well." Suna dropped her hands from Naruto's shoulders and turned to her men.

"What, you're not going on an immediate search for him?" Kakashi inquired and raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps it'd be best if you did."

Temari's lips twitched. "An immediate search would do nothing but send him and the others running away even faster than they were before. Besides, I think I know exactly where they're going."

"Really," Kakashi stated, not showing too much interest. "Kabuto notified us that he was going to be travelling to an abandoned military base."

She winced and crossed her arms, shaking her head as she looked to her subordinates for support. "Dream chasers, they are…" she coughed. "I know which base that they seem to be heading to. There's definitely a couple in that direction."

"Are they going to be successful in their so called mission?" Sasuke cut in.

"Honestly…" Temari blinked a few times and pursed her lips. "they actually might have a chance of owning a whole base to themselves. But who's to say that there's not completely deactivated Katons or scouts hiding from their own Sector presidents. That seems to be a common rumor going around in the world of those believers. I know one of them was completely demolished by a Sector, and one of them has a fifty to fifty chance of being empty of occupied. But either way, it was a pretty damn stupid decision. Think of it as walking right into a Sector's trap."

_Like we had_, Sasuke thought. They had walked straight into a trap. Their whole group was no different than the newfound enemies they'd made of Kabuto, Itachi, Neji, and Gaara. He found it ironic that the second Hinata was gone, everyone else finally seemed to notice her presence and have some odd contest of who was the closest friend to her.

"Anyway…" she shook her head and smiled. "this is some amazing news."

Kakashi nodded. "We were glad to help."

"And thank you for that," she quickly added. "So, Sasuke… is it a yes or a no?"

Now that Naruto was actually by his side, he didn't glance over into empty space. He consciously stopped himself from looking at his friend to avoid the embarrassment.

The fleeting second in when their noses had passed each other and their breaths mingled back in the forest opening… his whole body felt warm and his stomach jumpy. That was definitely something he hadn't experienced before, a moment so intense that he'd surely wouldn't forget it. Most of all, it was shared with Naruto, a boy who seriously seemed to be racking up the firsts in Sasuke's experience book. He was unfortunately left feeling _very _confused. It was like his soul had packed his bags, jumped out of his body, and had taken off after whatever it was chasing. He would make sure to fit the puzzle pieces together, though, with any chance that he would get.

Sasuke pursed his lips and glanced to the ground. Why was the action even necessary? Of course he was going to say yes. There was absolutely no way that he'd strand himself out here, and he was sure that Naruto wouldn't, either. So he raised his head and nodded calmly.

"I'm joining."

Temari stared at him for a few moments, the hand on her hip flexing. She offered him a tight smile and a grateful nod, her eyes speaking more volumes than he could recognize – this woman wanted him at her center what seemed to be very badly.

"So Sasuke was the last person you had to consult around here?" Kakashi rushed. "You've even spoken with Shikamaru?"

A smile slipped on her lips. "I woke him up to do so. And yeah, Sasuke's the last one."

"So what happens now?" Naruto asked and scratched his cheek.

"Now we pack up," Temari clapped her hands together and glanced into the tent area. "whatever personal items you have, bring them. Except clothes – we have plenty and you'll eventually be issued uniforms. Make sure to bring all of the weapons you have left over, too, since I'm sure that we have the ammo for them."

Sasuke was slightly moved. Issued uniforms? Temari must have had a somewhat large population back at her underground center. From the scaling of the blueprint, the building was already moderately large enough. But now he really wondered what kind of organization this was, besides its front of running missions against the Sectors.

"Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to come over here once again," Kakashi said. "I'll make sure to tell the others."

Sasuke and Naruto nodded at her, turning back to the tent area. There was ripped pieces of cloth spread everywhere, blood mixed in snow, clothes and shoes strewn everywhere. Altogether, the sight was disastrous.

"We didn't have anything that important… right?" Naruto winced. He seriously didn't want to step over some of the blood and other slaughter to get to their tent.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied, unless you counted their hoard of blankets as important.

Naruto sighed. "Thank Kami."

Sasuke nodded and they bathed in an awkward silence for a few silence. His fingers twitched by his sides and Naruto glanced off into the woods, digging his hands into his pockets and drumming against his thighs. Now the ramifications of their all too intimate moment really caught up with them.

Sasuke remembered something. "Naruto…" he pulled on the loop of his belt. "here."

Naruto regarded the Jericho in his pale hand with surprise. "What're ya doing with this? I thought I had it all along…" he patted his sides.

"I don't know," Sasuke answered honestly. "I guess I picked it up when you dropped it."

He took it from the other and twirled it in his fingers. "Ah, thanks. I would've lost it."

Sasuke hummed. "Are we supposed to be walking to Temari's center? How far away is it, anyway?"

Naruto looked around himself and Sasuke. He knew one of those guys was standing around here somewhere, picking through the mucky aftermath of their battle and searching for Sector DNA or something like that…

"Who are you looking for?"

The blond gasped and jumped, whirling his body back around to be blinded by the shade of Sai's skin. A cold smile stretched across the boy's face and he tilted his head.

"What the hell, Sai!" Naruto yelled. "When did you get there?"

"I've been here the whole time, dickless."

Sasuke glared at the two of them. Maybe he really should have left himself to this world. He didn't want to listen to this headache inducing shit when they were at the recruit center. Admittedly, he was tired of Sai's antics as well. But the boy had no censor or common sense, so he did as he pleased.

"Damn you, Sai," the blond grumbled. "where the hell are Suna's men?"

"I always had a suspicion of where your preferences lay," Sai deadpanned and nodded to himself. "I believe you just confirmed them."

Naruto's face turned all kinds of red and his fingers twitched in front of his face with the desire to strangle this sheet white dude. "You're the one always drawing naked guys and dicks! You're one to talk!"

"It is called art."

Sasuke sighed. He, once again, wanted nothing more than sleep.

"Is there a problem here?" an all-too familiar voice bellowed and closed in on the three. Sasuke nearly groaned – would he ever get a fucking break?

Gai was suddenly standing in front of them, his hands on his disturbingly protruded hips. His sun-wrinkled face was set in one of authority.

"It appears to me you are arguing about the expression of your youth."

"Sai's fuckin' creepy!" Naruto screeched and pointed at the pale boy. "He keeps making a bunch of inappropriate comments!"

"_Youth_," Gai fisted both of his hands in front of his face, quickly turning red from all of the air he was holding in his lungs for his lengthy speech. "is expressed in _many _different ways, my young ones."

Sasuke stared at all of from the figurative sidelines. Honestly, he had had a choice to walk away – and he devastatingly missed it. Now, if he were to move an inch, Gai would be on his ass like no other.

"Whether it be in exercise," the man nearly dropped to his knee in an expert lunge. "or beautiful works of art or in the shots of a gun," Gai closed one eye and pretended to shoot something in the distance. "it is all… youth. Youth is youth. All of you – you are in the prime of your youth. The _springtime_ of it."

Though Sasuke wouldn't have said a word either way, he was left speechless. Gai teared up in front of the three of them.

"I just want you kids to live the springtime of your youth," he breathed and squatted to the ground, grabbing some stray sand and sprinkling it to the sides. "so please… do as you wish. Follow your golden little hearts."

Even Sai had been shocked into silence, sending Gai a frightened look as he continued to meditate while doing squats. Naruto blankly stared at the man throughout his whole outburst, not making a single comeback or comment.

He watched Gai press his hands together and move his head from side to side as he rose in the squat, holding completely still for a few seconds and doing the same movements as me moved down.

"How are we leaving?" Sasuke demanded and prepared himself for the man's reaction.

"We are leaving in the most generous of ways," he replied and opened his bug eyes. "Sergeant Suna's energetic men have fixed the government vehicles for us to use since our population is so large. She says that her recreational center is twelve hours away by vehicle!"

He sighed. At least he would get-

"Sasuke," Gai said and stepped closer to him, reaching his hands out for his shoulders. "Sasuke…"

Then, it seemed Sasuke's vision had gone into a tunnel – he only saw the shaky and thick fingers of Gai and the monstrosities he called eyebrows.

_Youth._

In that moment, his thoughts blurred by sleep deprivation and hunger, Gai seemed like a monster. He seemed like a fairytale villain that sucked the youth out of children and teens to make himself look younger.

_I just want you kids to live your springtime of youth._

Sasuke quickly dodged the hands of Gai by moving to the side.

Gai fell to the ground on his face, his hands still extended and his fingers still open to grip what would have been Sasuke's shoulders. Naruto wheezed out a laugh next to him, slapping his hand over his mouth to cover it. He smirked, glancing over his shoulder to see the man performing a few sets of pushups.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" Ino jogged over to them, a piece of cloth holding her hair out of her face. "Sai… where have you been all this time?"

"I have been around."

"Okay, well, we need to leave right now before the Katons start coming out where the center is," she breathed. "Did ya get all your stuff?"

The three of them nodded. Sasuke had his shotgun, Naruto had his Jericho and hunting knife, and Sai had his backpack full of art supplies. All they really owned couldn't even fill a duffel bag.

"Okay," she struggled to catch her breath and motioned wildly for them to follow her. "we're assigning adults to cars because we have so many people."

Ino turned her back to them and jogged back to the right of the camp, to the same opening that Kabuto had left through. It was the one that led their heavy footsteps to a now-filled parking area.

Kakashi leant against their large SUV, patiently waiting as Kiba and Shikamaru placed Suigetsu in the trunk on a homemade cloth stretcher. Next to the black vehicle were the two compact cars that the group had already owned, the two military issue vehicles that Naruto had snuck into just hours earlier, and two more huge black SUVs that topped every other car in the area.

Kakashi knocked on the metal of their vehicle, gaining Naruto's and his attention. "Let's get going," he said and grabbed a rail at the top of the SUV to swing himself into the driver's seat and launch it. Sasuke glanced behind himself as the windows illuminated their traditional electric blue and the doors opened on their own.

Before, it had just been their SUV and the two aforementioned little compact cars of this group. Now, it had multiplied into seven vehicles all carrying a comfortable number of members. This camp had come a long way, and he would make sure to remember this part of the world in which he'd read so much books to learn about himself. Too many things happened here, he had been close with Itachi, and now he would be over a day away from his brother.

He climbed into the vehicle after Naruto, getting a window seat and the accomplishment of not being next to Karin. Juugo sat in the front and, once again, Suigetsu was in the back – albeit-

"I'm glad he's out cold," Karin grumbled. "finally fucking quiet around here."

Sasuke snorted. It really would be a relief. The grinding of rubber against rock announced the first exit of a vehicle, as well as a few more to follow their four-wheel drives. Kakashi didn't exactly wait for Tsunade's vehicle to back out and narrowly avoided a three-way accident.

Before he knew it, they were speeding down both lanes of the road once again and constantly switching should any of them become a certain target. Sasuke rested his head against the window and gazed outside to the blurred dark green of pine trees and gray of the slush and rocks.

He glanced back to his right to see that both Naruto and Karin had already fallen asleep, their quiet snores alternating beats. Karin's glasses hung off her face as she pressed it against the cold window and hugged herself in her sleep.

Sasuke tucked his back into the small corner between the door and the seat, stretching his legs out diagonally so that they wouldn't uncomfortably tangle with Naruto's. He slid down a bit and relaxed his shoulders, watching the calm rise and fall of Naruto's chest and the movement of his eyes behind his eyelids.

Of course the moment he got the chance to sleep, he couldn't. He raised his head again to glance at Suigetsu's unconscious body in the trunk, reaching over and grabbing a couple of blankets for them. Juugo's soft voice filled the vehicle as he talked with Kakashi in the front.

Knowing that Karin tended to be prone to hot flashes, he carefully draped a fleece blanket over he and Naruto's laps, using the second one he grabbed to cover their torsos. He fit himself back into the little grove he had made himself comfortable in and stared out the opposite window.

Something… about Temari's recruit center seemed concrete. Maybe it would be the final place they would all settle down after struggling to look for a home for a very long time. Too long of a time. Sasuke would be living with a purpose, and not a second of his time would be wasted. It was the best life an evict could possibly live, and he was thankful for the opportunity Temari had presented wondered what the center would have in store for his future.

He tugged the blanket closer to his chest, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Sasuke's eyes slid shut and the gentle bumps in the road finally lulled him into a long-awaited sleep.

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><p>AN: Wow... I feel like you guys deserve so much better from me. I'm sorry. Thank you for your reviews and support, though, they really get me motivated to write. I guess this pretty much marks the point of no return in this story, 'cause this is the real plot and we're picking up from here. Enough action! Some fluff is ahead. Again, thank you for your reviews and please keep them coming. I may need a little while to get my creative juices flowing, so until next time!


	20. Grey Matter

Chapter 19: Grey Matter

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><p>He laid on his left side for what seemed like the first time in forever, staring at the small sliver of light that came through the bottom of his door. It hit his table and the very crease where the wall met the floor, making the white walls appear grey.<p>

The pillow cloth felt unnatural against his face, as did the air pockets of his mattress against his body. It fit comfortably against his body and, yes, he appreciated it, but there was something he'd never get over about simply laying on hard ground with nothing more than a few blankets and perhaps an extra one to use as a pillow.

But still, after over twenty-four hours without any shuteye and a total of a two-hour nap and a hearty meal, he could not fall asleep. For all the wishing for slumber he had done within the past day, it was ironic that his eyes wouldn't close shut no matter how hard he tried to. It was like they disobeyed his neurological commands, remaining open for a robot that wouldn't roll in or a scout that would never sneak inside.

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><p>Sasuke's eyelids fluttered in his short-lived slumber, his head resting sideways against the back of his seat and a blanket being held under his chin. It was mostly quiet in the vehicle, its motor completely silent save for the wind hitting its windows and Karin's loud snoring.<p>

He shifted as Kakashi skimmed over a shallow pot hole, bordering between the line of slumber and consciousness. Their heads bobbed each time the man slowed down or, more often than not, floored the pedal. Hot air flowed in heavily from the vents all around them.

Sasuke frowned when the man ran over a much deeper pot hole, jostling the SUV's occupants against one another. It knocked Naruto straight on top of him and cause Karin to wake up mid-snore with a choke and a gasp.

He and Naruto's heads collided painfully with one another and the blond's torso fell past him, awkwardly crumpling on the window. His elbow was stuffed in Sasuke's face and Naruto's shoulder was crammed painfully into his gut, but the boy continued snoring softly and a small string of saliva connected the idiot's mouth to his knee.

Sasuke groaned once the pain in his gut forced him awake, accompanied by Karin's garbled curses at Kakashi for his shitty driving. The man chuckled loudly in the front seat and Suigetsu's body slid loudly in the trunk, his nylon stretcher creating a loud and annoying screech against the leather floor. He had a pounding headache and his cheek hurt from where it had been pressed against the window, and to top it all off, a wet spot had already formed of Naruto's drool on his knee.

Sasuke grumpily untangled their blankets, cursing himself for even throwing them on in the first place. There was a fold that held both his arm and Naruto's leg in it, a crumple that the other was sitting on and wouldn't budge, and an unrecognizable tangle of fleece and cotton. He made the quick decision to yank Naruto up by the shoulders and shove him back into the middle seat. The boy still didn't wake up, instead grabbing Sasuke's arm and holding it against his face, whispering something in his sleep and going limp once again. The boy attempted to gently pull his arm back to himself, but to no avail. Naruto simply nuzzled the fleece of his sweater and simultaneously rubbed his drool on it.

Sasuke sighed heavily and narrowed his eyes. He saw the situation exactly for what it was – a one where only one of them could win. Naruto could either cling onto Sasuke's arm for dear life or he could effectively remove his arms from the dangerous reigns of the blond's nuzzling.

So, using his left hand to blindly search for the seat lever to his side and preparing the muscles in his right arm for full and pure war, he smirked and looked down into the relaxed face of his friend. He would show the slumbering dumbass what he could and couldn't grab onto. His fingers ran over the lever and he grabbed onto it, ready for his own success.

However, he only got as far as yanking his arm to himself so that he and Naruto's foreheads collided again. The other woke up with a yelp, immediately releasing Sasuke's arm and grabbing his own head. Sasuke grunted and pulled the seat lever anyway.

Unfortunately, Kami decided to express her bad mood on Sasuke. The moment he pulled the leather and Naruto grabbed his own head, Sasuke was pulled slightly toward the other again. Kakashi sped up and hit yet _another _radical pothole, sending both of them toppling over the lowered seats. The headrests slammed straight Suigetsu's gut, the boy rising like the dead and gagging.

Meanwhile, Karin screamed as she was airborne and hit her head too hard against the roof of the SUV. Juugo, his neck already being craned under the roof, was knocked unconscious on impact. Kakashi simply tightened his grip on the steering wheel and tensed his body, only hiccupping in his seat and smiling at the ruckus in the back.

Sasuke sighed. He had hit his head on the back window of the vehicle and fallen parallel from Naruto, who had completely flipped over once they hit the pothole and had landed with his head near Suigetsu's chest. He didn't even know where his limbs were and which ones hurt. The white-haired boy groaned in pain and held his head in his hands.

"Oh…" he moaned.

It was almost as if Naruto had heard Suigetsu's words in slow motion. His eyes snapped open and widened within less than a second, fueled by the upset grumble in the other's stomach. He pushed off with his elbows and dove for the lowered seats crammed onto Suigetsu's stomach and pushed them forward onto Karin's body lying horizontally across the seats. She yelled at him and flailed her arm to bang against the back of Kakashi's seat.

"I'm gonna hurl…"

Kakashi slammed on the breaks, bringing the SUV to a screeching and burning stop and honking loudly. He switched gears to reverse and completely floored the speedometer, popping open the trunk and wincing as his group's bodies audibly hit the back of his seats, looking through the rearview mirror for a moment and seeing nothing but a flurry of limbs.

Sasuke was innocent, he swore. He even apologized to Kami for acting as a fucked-up vigilante and what he had just done to Naruto. He had just started to get up from his sprawled position in the trunk and was suddenly sent flipping back to his seat, his back hitting the back of Juugo's seat and sending the large boy into the dashboard. Naruto crashed into him as well and completed their sandwich, their feet painfully digging into the crumpled form of Karin on the floor of the vehicle.

As Karin screeched under him, Naruto paused. He swore his whole life had just passed right by before his eyes, most of it being the forests and of Sasuke's face. There were a few images and scenes of his parents and his friends sprinkled in there, but… he blinked heavily. Did he just have an out of body experience?

His train of thoughts was crashed by the sound of Suigetsu's retching out of the back window of the SUV. He winced and rubbed the back of his head. Naruto had been awoken by being slammed into Sasuke's hard ass head, then had done a complete three-sixty into the back window, _smashed_ his face against it, had a mere few seconds to even process what had happened, and then had done _another_ flip into Sasuke's bony ass shoulders to hit the back of another damn seat. Now one of the first sounds he heard besides Sasuke's raspy ass voice was the unpleasant solo of Suigetsu puking just a few feet away from them.

Naruto gasped and quickly leant off of Sasuke, glancing behind himself to make sure he hadn't hurt the other. Though his friend had a look of pure anger on his face, he knew it wasn't directed at him. The blond apologized to Karin and stepped off of her back, but not without a few loud cracks and curses from her. He tried to offer help to her but his hands were slapped away in favor of a search for her glasses.

He turned to help Sasuke get out but was only greeted with the sight of his back as he chewed out Kakashi for his driving skills. Naruto scratched the back of his head and shrugged, guessing that they would be here for a while. It seemed like everyone was alive, anyway, save Juugo's slumped form in the front seat. Poor dude.

He shoved the door open and leaped out, landing heavily on his feet and leaning on the armrest of the door to steady himself. How long had they been driving? And what had even happened? Sasuke followed him out with a fresh wrinkle between his brows, his dark hair disheveled.

Sasuke coughed, his throat becoming accustomed to the frigid cold outside. It had been very warm inside of the car.

Kakashi turned to their small gathering spot, his hands tucked into his pockets as he leaned in their direction. "And that, kids, is why you wear your seatbelts," he winked. The man turned away slowly and walked towards Suigetsu even more sluggishly.

"'Sas, what happened?" Naruto asked, his lips pursed in confusion.

His friend calmed a bit and glanced at him before looking around at their location. "I don't want to talk about it."

"The hell…" the blond grumbled to himself and sent Sasuke a suspicious look. Soon, he thought to himself. He'd poke an answer out of the other soon.

Sasuke grunted and scanned his eyes over the area. Nothing was too eye-catching other than the shattered bottle of alcohol on the side of the road. With a dark gray sky, matching pavement, and a dark and deep green forest, there wasn't much of a sight to offer. He noticed that the other vehicles had stopped as well, the figures of the girls coming towards them as well as Temari and a couple of the adults. His eye twitched as Suigetsu vomiting became audible once again, hesitantly turning around to see Kakashi awkwardly patting the boy on the back. He snorted.

"You kept cuddling up to me."

Naruto started a bit, sending the other a questioning look. He scowled for a few moments but then tilted his head back as he figured that was Sasuke's reply. "Well, ya know I need something to hug."

"With a death grip?" the other looked genuinely irritated. "You wouldn't let me sleep."

"Then why didn't you just push me off or somethin'?" Naruto pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.

"Like I said already," Sasuke sighed. "you had a death grip."

The other crossed his arms, awkwardly laying one on top of the other to stroke his hairless chin. He looked at the ground, raising his brows and wrinkling his chin only to have his eyes slowly and dramatically rest on Sasuke again. "You liked it."

Sasuke choked on his own saliva, eyes wide. "I did _not_."

"You did!" the blond screeched, covering his neck with his hands and doing his best to hide his face behind his fingers. "This luminous skin…" he drummed his fingers on his face. "and these blue eyes are so-"

"You were drooling," Sasuke snapped, having crossed his arms and tensed his jaw. He sent Naruto a dirty look.

"You two better stop messing around over there and use this as your potty break!" Sakura yelled at them. She was standing next to Suigetsu on the road, who had been given a large bucket to bury his head in. A few of the guys stood away from him in mild disgust, crossing their arms and squaring their shoulders while the girls bravely stood in close quarters to the sick boy.

That comment stopped Naruto midsentence, his face horrified between his fingers and his face tinged a light pink. He cursed to himself. "I'll get ya next time, dammit…"

"Tch," Sasuke turned his back to the other and glanced into the woods. Naruto was called over by Sakura, to which he moaned in despair and trudged away from Sasuke, dragging gravel along with the toes of his boots.

He glanced behind himself and smirked as Sakura assigned him the job of holding Suigetsu's blow bucket while they checked his vitals. He chuckled watching the blond's facial expressions, accompanied the slump of his shoulders and the pout in his lip. Naruto caught his eye and narrowed his eyes at him playfully, sending him a few warning but false glares. Sasuke smirked as Suigetsu coughed into his arm and groaned, probably exhausted of all the prodding he got himself once he woke up.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke and puffed out his cheeks, visibly hurting his cheeks and laughing once the air blew out of his lips. Sasuke smiled softly, his shoulders relaxing as he gave into the inevitable quirk of either side of his lips. It grew into a larger one as Naruto contorted his handsome face to meet the silly one of his crossed eyes and scrunched nose. He snorted, glancing around himself to make sure nobody had seen him laugh, turning back and readying to mouth something to the blond.

Naruto had a boyish grin on his lips, his eyebrows raised high as he waited for some feedback. Sasuke opened his mouth mid-smile, giving away a glimpse of his straight teeth, synchronizing disturbingly well with the sudden heave from the boy below him. Ino pushed him to the ground so that Suigetsu wouldn't miss the bucket and held him there, telling him that she'd cut his balls off if he moved.

Sasuke shut his mouth and winced. It sure seemed that the girls were really taking over these days, and he had no idea where that had come from. Directly behind the blond stood Temari, previously unseen due to his height advantage. She smirked, nodded to Naruto, and raised her cupped hand to her mouth, opening it and rolling her eyes back into her head quickly as she made lewd bobbing motions.

Oh, Kami. Sasuke's face heated up and he didn't bother glaring at her, instead choosing to turn around and walk into the woods. For Kami's fucking sake… wouldn't that be considered unprofessional? But what kind of professional was even Temari? It was like she had been teasing him the minute she met him.

He quickly glanced around himself, scanning for any Katons or scouts. The area around him was clear. But the gestures she had made… his mind was filled with vivid of images, of Naruto, Naruto, and Naruto, ones that he knew were far-fetched and hormone-induced. The farthest he had come to seeing the other naked was when he stripped into his blue boxers at night, of which Sasuke would prevent himself from looking any further than that.

Now his mind crept into that direction without his permission, wondering how exactly that scene would play out; the idea itself seemed wild to Sasuke, who would never expect their relationship to take a turn that much and get so far. It was a bad idea to start dwelling on his physical attraction towards Naruto, though, and especially right before he had planned to take a piss. He softly hit his head against the bark of a tree, softly aching from where he and Naruto's heads had met and from where it had collided with the window of their SUV. Once he calmed down substantially, he glanced behind himself to ensure his own privacy and around himself for safety, and then promptly took care of his business.

He irritably tucked himself back into his briefs and zipped his jeans back up, taking care to focus on the distant sounds of Suigetsu's heaving and retching instead of his lurking thoughts of Naruto's body. His diversions were successful and he sighed to himself, pushing off of the tree and slowly heading back to the road.

Thankfully, Temari had engaged in a serious conversation with Kakashi and the other adults. They stood a bit down the road and away from their vehicles, nodding to each other every now and then. Their idle figures were interrupted every few moments when Tsunade would attempt to subtly punch Jiraiya in the back of the head at comments whispered under his breath.

The moment his vision fixed on Gai, he rolled his eyes. Something like pity swelled in his stomach for whoever was graced to ride in the same car as Lee and Gai. That was a pure curse.

Sasuke turned away from them, shaking his head. He reluctantly strolled back over to the small group surrounding Suigetsu, frowning when the rancid aroma of stomach acid assaulted his nose. Fortunately, Naruto's hands were free and Suigetsu spat in the bucket by his side. Karin stepped forward with a brown vial and a syringe, looking one hundred and ten percent annoyed with everyone around her.

"This is gonna stop the vomiting," she grumbled, avoiding eye contact with Suigetsu. She crouched down and yanked his left arm up, haphazardly locating a vain and shoving the syringe needle into his inner elbow and quickly administering the medicine to her teammate. Suigetsu groaned.

"Careful," Sakura mumbled, her arms crossed and her shoulders hunched. "he moans every time before he blows."

Ino snorted. "You know, that can be taken in two ways."

Most of the group chuckled around them save for Karin and Suigetsu. Sakura gasped at the inappropriate comment and smacked her friend on the arm, bursting into giggles. "Ino!"

She tilted her head back and laughed loudly, cradling her stomach in her arms. "Whatever, you prude," she teased. Ino bent over and scrunched her nose, picking up the blue bucket and holding it out to Naruto. "Will you go empty this out?"

"Aw," the blond moaned, his face contorting into a painful grimace. "Why do I have to be damn pack mule? Why can't Sasuke do it?"

"You were just standing in front of me at the wrong time," Ino disclaimed and shrugged, nodding to the bucket in her arms. "the sooner you do it, the faster it's over."

Naruto closed his eyes and grabbed the bucket, his eyebrows knotting together. He waddled off with the large bucket, cursing them all under his breath and nearly tripping on the side of the road.

Karin stood and wiped her hands off, scowling straight at Sasuke. "This is your entire damn fault."

"How is it?"

"You're the one that put the seats down, right?" she said and waved her small fist in his face. "Right on top of his damn stomach. You're the one that turned him into a fucking geyser."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and calmly tilted his head. "I did put the seats down, but I guess the pothole in the road made it all worse. All of our weight slammed against him."

"I'll get you back, Sasuke," she growled, roughly pushing her glasses higher onto her nose. She glared at him one last time and stomped away to yank Suigetsu to his feet by the arm, groaning and nearly going limp.

Sasuke decided that he had used enough of his social energy, again wanting to rest. He departed from the group and stepped back onto the road, taking his time and listening to each individual crunch of gravel on his boots. Their people were tiring ones, and he hoped that Temari would be willing to put up with them. This was basically their last shot at life itself.

He rounded the side of the SUV that Karin had been in, tapping the window for the doors to unlock and shivering when the cold air slipped under his shirt and over his stomach. He was surprised to see that he wouldn't be alone in his solitary relaxing time, Juugo's snoozing form still in the front seat. Well, as long as the tall boy didn't speak in his sleep, Sasuke wouldn't mind.

He shut the door heavily behind him and scooted over to his original seat, leaving the seats in their lowered position. He grabbed his own blanket from the mangled pile on the floor, right next to a soft imprint on the back of the passenger's seat that he knew was where his head been. Sasuke did his best to relax, turning to his corner and hiking his blanket up to his chin. It was his best to conserve warmth as the back door of the SUV was still suspended high in the air and it wasn't exactly his day to go stomping around in a puddle of vomit to close it.

Sasuke ran his mind over the previous events following that, though, his lips slightly turning up at the memory of his banter with Naruto and his silly faces. He knew that they had a long road to go and Sasuke would be there to experience the rest of the drive, his thoughts racing by in his mind and leaving skid marks.

The door closest to him beeped and swung open. Naruto shoved his head inside and put a hand on his upper thigh, apologizing once he realized that Sasuke was there in the first place. He swung himself rather noisily inside and threw himself into his seat, bouncing on it for a moment before glancing behind himself and tapping Sasuke on the shoulder.

"I know you're not asleep," he said. "I'll forgive you if you go close that door."

Sasuke growled. "Forgive me for what? I did nothing."

Naruto scoffed. "You slammed our heads together and made me a victim of the barf bucket! Don't pretend like you don't know what you did."

He threw the blanket off of himself and glared at the other, climbing over the seats and sliding over Suigetsu's stretcher. He was thankful that the boy hadn't left any residue and nearly stood to extend his hand out to the window of the door, hunched over slightly. He tapped it and quickly stepped back so the door would close smoothly and slid back into his seat.

Naruto curled his lips. "Thank you, 'Sas. You're a perfect friend."

He grunted and more irritation flooded his veins as the driver's door and opposite back door opened once again, the vehicle bouncing as three bodies threw themselves inside. Sasuke did his best to turn away from Naruto and hold his blanket to his chin again.

"Oh no!" Karin screeched. "I forgot about Juugo!"

"He's fine," Kakashi dismissed with a wave of his hand and started up the SUV, waiting for everyone in front of them to get a move on. "Are you all ready to hit the road again?"

So it was a total of four seconds. It only took four seconds for Sasuke to give up his sleep for the rest of the drive.

Suigetsu clicked his tongue in the back. "Where the hell are we, anyway?"

Kakashi waved his hand in a wide arc. "In the middle of nowhere."

Karin gasped dramatically at a comment Suigetsu made a few moments later and a sharp smack filled the vehicle, followed by the traditional curses and jabs at each other. Kakashi would yell his two cents in the argument from the front seat, and Naruto twiddled his thumbs beside him and bombarded him with question after question, making a lighthearted joke from time to time.

Only about ten minutes had passed by and Sasuke leant against the seat facing Naruto, nodding every once in a while for what the other had to say. He wanted to get in depth on anything ranging from weapons and plants to medicine and their own friendship.

Sasuke didn't dare glance in the rearview mirror – he already felt Kakashi's amused eyes on Naruto and he. He chuckled at an innocent pun the blond had cracked out, smiling as the other laughed at his own joke and quite nearly cried from it.

"Are we there yet?" Suigetsu yelled over Karin's voice and Naruto's laughter.

"We have ten more hours to go," Kakashi chirped, sending the occupants in the back seats a rock-n'-roll sign with his hand.

Sasuke inwardly groaned. Their travel was very much like being trapped inside of a vehicle with people who hadn't mentally aged past the age of nine, but he wouldn't deny himself the pleasure of wild conversations with Naruto. After all, they still had a while to go, and he knew that they _still_ wouldn't have enough time to outtalk each other with a twenty-four hour time window. So he sighed again and stretched his legs in front of him, listening closely to what the blond had to say.

* * *

><p>Sasuke's body heaved forward for the umpteenth time in the past twenty minutes. His teeth were grinding and his eyes were to the ceiling, his shoulders tensed as he was pushed forward every few moments. Each time it happened, his seatbelt dug painfully into his collarbone and he fixed it only to have it misplaced by Suigetsu's kicking again.<p>

He had already told Suigetsu to knock it the hell off over ten times, but it seemed more pleasing to the boy to kick the back of Sasuke's chair and his chair only. The white-haired boy was sprawled out in the back of the trunk, his previous illness seeming to vanish into thin air, his head resting in his arm as he lifted his leg every five to ten seconds and sent Sasuke forward a few inches each time. However, he wouldn't give in to his desires to knock Suigetsu's front teeth out; that would be immature and provoking. But even Naruto was becoming irritated now as Sasuke wouldn't even attempt to speak so that his voice wouldn't give out every time Suigetsu kicked.

"-that's the thing about her, is it the blond genes or the red genes that are dominant-" Naruto was cut off by Sasuke's body dipping forward and the boy becoming even more unresponsive.

He growled. "Knock it the fuck off, Suigetsu! I'm trying to have a conversation over here!"

"Uchiha ain't even listening," the boy slurred, sending Naruto a sleazy grin as he kicked the back of the seat again. "So what's it to ya?"

Sasuke decided that he had had enough once his seatbelt dug into his neck and quickly unbuckled it, throwing it over his shoulder and turning around in his seat. To him, there was no dodging the mean right hook he had sent flying to Suigetsu's head, but with his awkward angling and Suigetsu's vision advantage, he managed to dodge the hit anyway.

Fortunately, Karin had the same idea as him, and her left fist was eagerly awaiting the boy's temple as he dodged away from Sasuke and towards her. It hit him in the temple with a loud _thump_ and the foot on the back of Sasuke's seat fell limp with the rest of Suigetsu's body.

Naruto grunted and nodded. He raised his arms and clapped softly, making sure that she hadn't killed Suigetsu by accident. Suigetsu looked alive enough, he thought, and grinned widely at Sasuke.

"It's a good life now."

He nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>Sasuke slumped as Naruto's snores filled his ear, drool falling onto his shoulder once again. The boy had fallen asleep a couple of hours before (perhaps he had talked himself to sleep) and quite literally passed out on the Uchiha, once again holding his arm tightly to his chest and nuzzling him from time to time.<p>

He admitted that once he looked past the wet spot on his shoulder and the tickle of his thick hair on his face and neck, the other wasn't so bad when he was asleep. Like always, Naruto's presence was warm and calming, but his ridiculous faces were multiplied by ten and Sasuke couldn't help a small smile come across his face as the boy whispered something about beef.

* * *

><p>He had just been on the verge of unconsciousness when Kakashi braked the vehicle to a sudden stop, their thankfully belted bodies staying where they were but Suigetsu's body hitting the back of the seats again. Karin woke up with a snort, her glasses flying straight off of her face and hitting the passenger's seat in front of her. Sasuke merely opened his eyes as Naruto whined and slowly released his arm, his fingers stuck to the sweater for a bit. He sighed and glanced down at the small spot of drool on his shoulder, though he couldn't bring himself to care too much – it was like this was the norm. Naruto sat up and sighed, rubbing his eyes with the meaty part of his palms.<p>

"Are we there?" he asked Kakashi, blinking heavily and slumping forward in his seat, his only means of support being the seatbelt digging into his chest.

The man grunted as he struggled to look over the rest of the cars, quickly backing up and sending them jolting forward again. "I think we are…" he trailed off.

Naruto groaned and grabbed Sasuke's blanket straight off of his body, balling it up and burrowing his head inside of it. His body slumped back on his seat again, legs widely spread as he tried to sleep again.

"You know, you might as well wake up," Sasuke stated, gently tugging his blanket away from Naruto's face.

"No!"

Kakashi suddenly sped up again, causing their heads to roughly hit their headrests. Sasuke's teeth clacked together and he glared at the man through the rearview window, although his attention seemed to be diverted on something else. He rolled down tinted the driver's window to reveal Temari's face, a cloak draped over her head to protect herself from the wind.

"I don't think we have enough space for all these cars," she yelled. "I think we should all just get off and head inside. My men will take care of the parking later."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows and grasped the back of the glove compartment, turning his body to his passengers. "Did everybody hear that?"

Karin was the only one who grunted her affirmation. Juugo nodded after a few silent, awkward moments as the Sergeant waited for a proper answer. She nodded back and glanced ahead of their vehicle again, her face only partially illuminated by their headlights.

"It might be dangerous out here," she warned. "just check yourselves and keep your guard up."

"Katons?" Naruto murmured, letting Sasuke grab his blanket back.

"I'm guessing so."

Kakashi shut the car down, their last sight of light being the smooth gliding of blue over their windows before everything was pitch black. He opened his own door, letting the emergency lights come on and hurried them out.

"I'll get Suigetsu," Juugo offered, the SUV shaking violently once he exited the vehicle. He stalked to the trunk, running his hand along the length of the vehicle and calmly opened the back door, slugging the skinny boy onto his shoulder.

Naruto raised his eyebrows and did his best to stick close to Sasuke's presence, jumping when Juugo loudly slammed the door of the SUV closed. They were bathed in immediate darkness again, only the sound of Karin sniffling and the sharp wind punctuating their silence. He liked to imagine that they were standing in a circle, but since he could see literally _nothing_, he figured that it was a stupid idea.

Sasuke nudged him slightly "I might have a flashlight."

"Then turn it on!" the blond urged, grabbing the other's shoulder and shaking it violently. "Everything's black!"

"Are your eyes open?" Sasuke deadpanned, his voice leaking with sarcasm as his hands slid against the denim of his jeans, searching for his pockets.

Naruto grunted. "Of course they are," he said, blinking and staring in the direction that Sasuke's voice had come from. He could see small lights in the distance, trembling in the hands of their teammates and taking wild turns.

"Shit, I don't," the other grumbled and sighed heavily.

"Then you all best follow my footsteps," Kakashi ordered, his voice coming from a few feet in front of them. "and stay close to one another. Let's move."

"How in the hell does Temari expect us to find our way over there?" Sasuke griped.

"No idea…" Naruto breathed, just barely touching the sleeve of the other's sweater as they walked forward in a line. Kakashi was evidently following the pink keychain flashlights Jiraiya had stolen from a strip club in an exotic part of a Sector back in his day, Naruto thought. He couldn't believe that they still lasted, and after the time when he had accidentally left it on overnight when he was twelve.

Karin shushed them, grabbing Sasuke by the wrist and pulling him forward more quickly. "If any of us die, it's y'all first. I have things to live for."

"The hell do you have to live for?" Suigetsu had seemingly chosen to wake up just in time to insult Karin. "Spending the rest of your life chasing after Sasuke's dick?"

That tick he had in his eye from years ago returned right now, Sasuke thought.

"Shut the fuck up, you slimy ass piece of shit!" she spat, a telltale thump emitting from where she had predictably punched Suigetsu in the back. A much louder thump came from the ground by his feet, where he imagined Juugo had simply dropped him.

"Ugh…" the boy groaned, moving his hands on the ground. "Come on, Juugo! I thought we were tight?"

"It was an accident," the large boy simply dismissed.

"Huh, well, now I know that if I ever got the chance to escape all this shit, I would definitely say yes to the offer since none of you appreciate this."

Sasuke clucked his tongue as Karin yanked him forward again, gently moving his wrist out of the cage of her hand.

They continued walking in the blistering cold, wind seeming to puncture Sasuke's thin skin and make most of his face feel numb. He heard Naruto's teeth chattering together behind him and cursed as the sound made him want to clack his own together. It had been an unbearingly long and cold winter, and Sasuke couldn't wait for the spring season to come any longer.

Knowing that nobody could see, he puffed out his cheeks and hugged his arms to himself. As ironic as it was, it seemed like the eye of the hurricane, for the last time he had been in this weather it was a blizzard. Now, they were without the insane stress of military officials hot on their tails and right under their noses.

He paused as his leg went a bit lower than the even terrain he was on. Supporting his weight with just his left foot, he lowered his right a bit more, kicking forwards and backwards to test whatever it was. A small hole, but one that could still induce a sprained ankle for one not travelling as calmly and slowly as he was.

Naruto reared up closely behind him and he held his hand out slightly. "Watch your step," Sasuke murmured. "Go to the right a little."

The other grunted, trudging after Sasuke and sighing. He was glad to be settling down after they had always been on the mood.

Finally, they approached a circular formation that had gathered around Lee's two flashlights. Temari was crouching on the ground with her elbow resting on one of her knees, waiting for the last of their group to find their way over. She nodded to Kakashi and Jiraiya placed his large palm on her shoulder, informing her that they were the last members of their group left to come.

"Alright," she announced, pointing to the ground. "I technically built five more entrances to my property, but this is the one closest to us and also the safest one to use at night. Two more are far away from each other inside the woods, and two more are in our training field half a mile away. When you come out in daylight for the first time, I can't stress how _important_ it is that you memorize this entrance," she waved her hand with her last few words. "Okay? There's a ledge that'll go down with your weight, and should that ever give out, a ladder in the wall."

Temari ran her hands over the dry grass and patted the areas around herself, testing for hollowness. She finally encountered a metal bang instead of a soft one into dirt. "This is it, guys," she called, digging her hands into the ground and using all of her muscle to pull a square of grass out of the land.

What took the entire width of her arms wasn't just a _square_, Sasuke noted. She lifted a decidedly large hidden door out of the ground, pushing it forward with all of her strength and grunting as it spread a cloud and a few clumps of dirt around their feet. She swung her legs around herself and jumped inside, another hollow metal pang coming from inside. Her two guards followed her and she yelled to them.

"Max this platform can take is five hundred pounds, so assort yourselves!"

"Ladies first!" Ino screeched and elbowed Kiba out of the way, who had immediately stepped forward, grabbing her friends by the wrists and bringing them to the front of the crowd.

"Why don't we go by age first?" Shino suggested, holding up a hand.

"Excuse me," Tsunade snapped. "That is degrading. Not to mention that only some of you know how old you are, anyway."

"They'll learn that," Temari called and stuck her head out of the trap door. "We have ID scanners and weighers so they'll fix themselves in the future. I'll call you when the ledge is back up."

Her odd ponytails disappeared back under the door, a soft humming sound echoing off the walls. A few moments later, she OK'd the next group of members. Ino still dragged Sakura, Tenten, and Karin into the hole, dropping down and landing lightly on the ledge. Their excited chatter was heard even after they reached the bottom.

"Let the lightest go first," Tsunade suggested. "Suigetsu, Lee, Sasuke, and Naruto, you're up."

"What!" Naruto whispered to himself. "You've gotta weigh at least a hundred and sixty pounds."

"I think we'll find that out soon," Sasuke replied, stepping forward and glancing inside the door. Surely enough, a rail metal platform was awaiting them. Fluorescent light filled his vision and made him dizzy for a few seconds.

Suigetsu pushed him backwards, squashing uncomfortably between his legs in a provocative manner that left Sasuke all sorts of confused. Lee hollered his acceptance of the challenge and took Sasuke's look of utter fear as an invitation, grinding their fronts together and shimmying his way onto the ledge. Naruto took advantage of his shock and pushed him inside, leaping in behind him and gasping over the inside of the building.

That… was the most disturbing thing Sasuke had ever experienced. It even topped the multiple times Suigetsu had shamelessly masturbated when they were showering and the dark time when he had seen Kakashi's balls. Never would he have thought that Lee's body would be pressed so closely to his, and it made his guts heave in the most unpleasant of ways.

He ignored Naruto when he grabbed his shoulder and shook it violently, instead staring at the ground and attempting to remember what his life had been like before those disturbing events. His mind took a horrifying turn to a memory of Lee running around the camp and yelling "Faster! I must go faster!"

Sasuke clamped a hand over his mouth and leant against the railing of the ledge. Pair the memory with the gentle swaying of this platform and his stomach never felt so weak.

"I know!" Naruto grabbed him by the shoulders again and shook him so roughly that his bangs fanned forward.

He finally raised his eyes and his jaw slackened with awe from the sight in front of him. Sasuke almost thought of the hospital that Naruto had helped him to and Karin treated him in right before they had joined Tsunade's group.

Temari had never mentioned the size of this place, and this was just the evident infirmary. A couple of white-cloaked women with clipboards in their hands and masks over their mouths glanced at them before returning to various patients lying on beds behind a wall of glass. They entered through doors made completely of glass as well, with an infectious symbol engraved into it. Behind the glass walls were rectangular assortments of curtains, evidently arranged so that each sick patient had their own space. In front of that glass were curtained standard checkup beds with paper rolled over the built-in pillows and seats and more metal beds in cubicles revealed by open curtains, only two of them occupied and closed. It seemed like privacy was a huge thing here. Sinks aligned one wall and eight mini refrigerators were stacked on top of and next to each other, all having their own signs of _O_,_ B_, _AB_ and _A_ hung on them. Next to them were what seemed like miles-long cabinets of surgical and medical supplies behind locked glass doors.

Karin gasped loudly and gravitated in every which direction she could. Temari offered her a tentative smile and mumbled something in her ear, the girl quickly nodding.

"Checkups for everyone," Temari called. "I'll leave you in the hands of my two doctors Yagura and Ozuka. I have business to tend to right now, so when any of you are done, navigate yourselves to the lobby. There's plenty of space for you all." She nodded and glanced behind them as more members entered. "And thank you for joining my force. I'll see all of you tomorrow," she cast them a lose salute and was whisked off by her two guards through a door on the opposite side of the room, both of them muttering into the walkie-talkie like devices on their shoulders.

Now the atmosphere felt oddly tense as confusion without authority ran over the teenagers. Yagura, a tall woman with her hair cropped short and parted in the middle, stepped out of the glass doors and discarded of her rubber gloves.

"Please, those who have pressing or immediate medical issues step forward," she asked, her dark hair shiny under the fluorescent lights.

Ino stepped from the crowd, dragging an irritated Konohamaru to the doctor by his ear. His right arm was slung neatly in an efficient homemade sling. The doctor shooed him to an examination table and the young boy disappeared behind the blue curtain, slowly closing it and sending a menacing glare to the blonde who had forced him into the hands of another medical freak.

Karin stepped forward and tugged Naruto and Suigetsu away from Sasuke's sides, a predatory glint in the lens of her glasses.

"I'm not even hurt!" Naruto protested, doing his best to brush away her hand knotted in his shirt. She tugged the back of his blue shirt up and patted the thick bandages lining a deep gash on the left side of his back.

His shoulders slumped and he sent Sasuke a wittingly miserable look, dragging his heels across gray tiles into a cubicle and quickly sliding its curtain closed.

"That's all," Ino said. "though a lot of us have burns from Sector Tasers."

"Then those of you with burns are fine, but all of you must stand by for a booking," Dr. Yagura announced. "You can go to the lobby if you'd like, but for every one of you that leaves, another must come back until all of you have been recorded."

The teens nodded their understanding and spread out, a few of them warily heading outside the door that Temari had left from and some choosing to loiter around the entrance of the building. Tsunade stepped forward and offered her helping hand, to which Yagura accepted.

To some of the group, it was painfully normal to see Tsunade in a long white coat and paper mask again. It was new to Sasuke, as he had only barely known that Tsunade was the best physician in Konoha before the eviction. She held a clipboard with a thick pile of papers barely held by the clasp, a pen spinning in her hand.

She slapped the cuff of her glove against her wrist and raised her eyebrow at Sasuke, motioning for him to come to her with her index finger. He grudgingly stepped forward and made his way to an open examination table, Tsunade following closely behind him.

He rested on the firm plastic of the table, the thin layer of paper on it crackling under his weight. Tsunade closed the curtain behind her, turning on a bright white lamp straight into Sasuke's eyes.

"Sorry," she said, crouching down and rummaging through built-in drawers under the table. He rubbed his eyes to witness her bring out two vials and a needle, setting a few other items on the ground.

"Blood sample, weight and height, dental examination, and then body map. That's all."

Sasuke nodded and rolled up his sleeve, already accustomed to this procedure. He didn't fail to notice that the last time he had his blood taken, Itachi was tensely standing by his side and quite literally hovering over Karin while she did. He didn't take the time to revel how much had changed within the span of twenty-four hours, instead frowning when Tsunade wrapped a rubber tie above his elbow painfully tight.

"I know," she said. "but the faster it'll come out and the lesser you think you've lost."

She pushed a needle into his vein, quickly changing syringes and holding a tube to collect his blood in. Surely enough, it heavily and quickly dripped into the tube, nearly black and in large beads. She continued until it was three-fourths full and switched tubes, only filling the second one halfway. His wrist was already tingling after a few seconds and she quickly plugged the syringe, removing the needle from his vein and slapping a bandage right above the puncture sight. Tsunade moved away to cap both of his samples, jotting down his name on the tape labels.

Sasuke calmly removed the bandage and placed it over the small bead of blood that had formed inside his elbow, pressing the middle of it down to absorb the blood. He watched her with tired eyes as she filed them into a tube rack and jotted a few things down onto her paper.

"B negative, right?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Alright," Tsunade grunted and nodded for him to step on the weighing scale she kicked out from under the table. "Let's see how much the mighty Uchiha has on him."

Sasuke made a disapproving face, toeing his boots off and nudging them to the side. He stepped on the scale and turned to Tsunade, who raised her eyebrows.

"You're underweight, for all the fuss about it. And you've grown. See? Underweight," she barked, not actually showing him any proof. Her amber eyes moved back to his face, silently ordering him to sit back down.

In all honesty, he was actually feeling a bit lightheaded. Combine the exhaustion, irritation, being thrown into a new environment and his overreaction about two small tubes of blood, and he would nearly pass out on a doctor's table under a blaring white light. Tsunade used one hand to poke at his teeth as she mapped out his molars.

The dental process took maybe twenty minutes, but Sasuke's judgment wasn't exactly trustworthy at the moment. He hazily wondered what his own teeth looked like.

"Alright," Tsunade used her same, authoritative tone of voice again. "Take off your clothes."

Sasuke's eyes opened, staring at her as he relinquished the feel of his sweater on his chest. "What?"

"Take off your clothes," she looked at him like a dumbfounded parent to a child. "We're doing a body map."

He eyed her warily, slowly sitting up so that his biceps strained. "All of them?"

"No, I'm going to draw your underwear as a birthmark. Yes, all of them, Sasuke, most preferably within the next day."

The teen sent her a weak glare, sliding off of the table. He guessed that now was not the same time; he was a subject to her teasing. But this made him plain uncomfortable, knowing that he would see this woman for every day as long as either of them lived, knowing what his body was like… _naked_.

"Yes, I've seen all you runts in your birthday suits," she deadpanned. "I actually delivered a lot of your friends. Again, the sooner you do it, the sooner it's over."

Kami, Sasuke had known Tsunade was old, but not that old. She must have had some illegal Sector youth serum to look the way she did. Either way, Sasuke reluctantly and slowly pulled both of his arms through his sweater and tugged it over his head, the muted slapping sounds of Tsunade's gloves against her skin nearly making goosebumps rise along his neck. He folded the garment in half two times and laid it neatly on the table behind him, moving to the buttons of his jeans and undoing both of them, tugging his zipper out of them and stepping out of his jeans.

Along with his jeans came with the uprise of the hairs on his body. He couldn't believe that, besides his mother, father, and brother who had bathed him when he was a child, an old woman was the first one to see him naked. This was yet another thing that would keep Sasuke up at night, he thought, tugging his jean leg off his foot.

"What are you stalling for?" Tsunade chuckled. "Do you want me to close my eyes?"

Sasuke willed down a flush of anger and tugged his briefs off, kicking them to the side along with his jeans. Now he stood naked as the day he was born in front of Tsunade, the sixty-something doctor who shamelessly hit on Jiraiya in the most discreet of ways. He almost shivered as the crisp air in the infirmary hit his personals and stared at a crease in the blue curtain behind her. This whole day had done nothing but disturb him.

She approached him, to which he did his best not to revolt at. Tsunade gently touched the scar tissue on his shoulder and collar bone, neatly sketching the scar on a silhouette of a body on her paper. She checked for moles on his arms and chest, both of which Sasuke knew he already had none of, and backed away to inspect his lower regions. The dread in him had already left a few moments ago – now, he remained disturbed and felt like a family of worms had made their way into his stomach.

Tsunade chuckled and marked a scar on his hip and upper thigh. Now the hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck stood on end and he fought the muscles in his face threatening to morph into a horrified one. "What the hell is so funny?"

"Have some more respect for your elders," she scolded and raised a fair eyebrow at him, leisurely spinning her pen between her fingers. "You're pale as a corpse."

He sighed and reluctantly obliged when Tsunade motioned for him to turn around. At least he wouldn't have to face those judgmental, prying eyes now.

"You have a mole on your left buttock."

Sasuke mentally groaned and wished to be clothed again. This experience was _scarring_. However, the only physical portrayal of his distress was the slight twitch in his fingers by his sides.

"Okay, okay, you're done," Tsunade sighed and scribbled loudly on her paper. "Hurry it up."

Sasuke tugged his underwear and pants on in one movement, quickly zipping up, buttoning, and shrugging his sweater back over his head. It only took him a couple of long strides to reach the curtain and quite nearly rip it off the hinges. He was grateful to Kami that the process was completed within a little over five minutes, sighing once he reached the open space again. When Kiba strolled behind Tsunade's curtain, he felt no pity whatsoever.

Now he glanced to his left, the curtain around Naruto's cubicle drawn closed. His voice was drifting out from it, muffled, calm and steady. Sasuke frowned at not having him by his side to view what Temari had called the "lobby", but he guessed the other would be able to see it later.

Sasuke ducked out of the exit door, a large, wooden floor expanding in front of him. On either side of him were two more rooms, their doors closed. Various men and women milled around him, entering those doors with electric keypads and some of them pushing past him into the infirmary. They all regarded him with wary looks, all of them seeming to wear the same uniform, or at least range of colors. Most of the men wore black pants and a luminescent shirt of a material that he'd never seen before, a telltale of stolen Sector articles. Women wore the same attire, a few of them opting to wear a spandex-like material under skirts, but all of them wearing the same military issue combat boots.

Sasuke moved forward, glancing around himself for a teammate, anybody he knew – but he couldn't see anyone over the sea of black-clad, moving bodies. Irritation bubbled up in his chest and a woman apologized to him for bumping into his shoulder, to which he nodded his okay.

Finally, a shock of silver hair rose over the crowd of chattering soldiers and Sasuke weaved towards that head. As he neared, he could finally see Kakashi's stature and the pleased expression on his face, chatting with a stout man leaning on a metal basket.

"Sasuke, you made it," Kakashi greeted. He was clad in a black material and open olive vest that reminded him of the green jumpsuits Gai and Lee wore, though it was, er, more conservative, and had had the texture of scales.

"Welcome," the man next to him said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose and grinning. It was an unwelcomed reminder of Kabuto, though this man's glasses were not round. He scanned his eyes over Sasuke's body, evidently calculating his sizes and nodding to himself. "I'll get your articles of clothing and room immediately."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the man jogged to the opposite side of the lobby, travelling with much more speed than he would expect a man of that weight. He turned to Kakashi and sent him a questioning look.

"These are neat," the man offered, slapping the bodysuit against the skin of his forearm. "_Very _comfortable."

"I can see why you and Gai are such good friends now."

Kakashi chuckled slowly, narrowing his eyes down to him. "Watch your mouth. He just might come if you summon him."

"Here you go," the man returned with a small plastic bag, pair of issued boots, and box in hand. "Wing 9 is accessible by the platform over there…" he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and pointed to a platform lined in warning tape. "Evens on the right, odds on the left. Please, make yourself comfortable, and welcome!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask a question but was actually pushed towards the platform surrounded by security cones, glancing behind himself to send a skeptical look to the man. He was already jogging away again as Kiba and a few others of his group surrounded Kakashi.

Sasuke glanced down at the plastic bag in his arms, containing the same black jumpsuit that Kakashi had been flaunting. He narrowly avoided bumping into a burly man two full heads taller than him, apparently headed in the same direction as him. A few people were rising to the floor, stepping off before the platform even leveled with the wooden floor. The large man hopped on – he was easily over two hundred pounds, Sasuke noticed and stepped next to him.

The man pulled an orange lever and they were lowering to the next floor, standing in an awkward silence. The man crossed his meaty arms and tucked his chin into his chest, staring at Sasuke from the corner of his eye and nodding his head to the creaking of the platform.

Strange, Sasuke thought, tucking his jumpsuit under his arm and opening the small blue box in his hand. All that was in it was a key with a crude paper label taped onto it, reading _W9_-_78_. He gingerly took the bronze key out and turned it over, frowning when he realized how easy it would be to lose.

They reached the ground and the man hopped over the railing of the platform, jogging into one of the corridors in front of him. The area in front of him looked much like a hotel, except that the doors had machine engraved numbers on them, and that hotels did not have laser IDs attached to the ceiling and guns behind closed glasses instead of fire extinguishers. The IDer shone its bright blue light into his pupil and he blinked, aggravated.

"_Sasuke Uchiha_," a simulated voice spoke softly. He glanced above his head and waited for more – nothing. He warily stepped into the thin hallway, nothing but a small piece of discarded paper lying on the ivory carpet. It was almost as if either side of the corridor threatened to close in on him, glancing on either side as if all of the doors would open at once and this would all be some sort of twisted joke.

The teen continued forward as the numbers escalated and escalated, voices softly heard behind a few of them. It seemed to be a less populated portion of the so-called rooms. Pressing his ear against a few of them proved that. Sasuke continued forward into the fifties, then sixties, and finally, seventies.

Harshly imprinted numbers of W9-76 stood out to him and he finally reached what he guessed what was his door. Sasuke dug the key from his pocket and unlocked the door, letting it silently open into the room. Lights inside automatically turned on, illuminating a partial cement and carpet floor. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

The room was surprisingly big, most of it empty space. To his left, a wooden table and two chairs rested against the wall, smelling freshly of sandpaper. A long mirror was hanging on the wall further to his left, of which he could see his reflection in. A marble counter jutted from the wall. Sasuke stepped closer to the mirror and inspected himself for the first time in a while and recognized his own pale and clear complexion, noting that he needed a haircut. He moved his bangs out of his face and was surprised to see his unbruised cheekbones and eye, a butterfly closure lying above his eyebrow. His lips were chapped and his ears were red from the cold. It was all a reassuring sight until his eyes reached the prominent bruises on his neck, partnered with the crescent of Kimimaro's nails.

Sasuke turned away from the mirror and faced the rest of the room. A small dresser was lined against the wall and he opened one of its drawers, sighing and shrugging out of his sweater once again. For what Karin would call sentimentality, he folded the gray sweater in two halves again and tucked it into the corner of the first drawer, followed by his jeans. He opened the second drawer to find a pair of soft sleeping pants and white shirt. He made it a mission to himself to find the running water in this place and shoved his own boots and socks in the drawer, quickly changing into the pajamas and ditching the jumpsuit. He sent a longing glance to the soft twin bed on the opposite wall and grabbed his key off the drawer again, slipping out of the door and into the hallway.

He glanced down the rest of the hall that led into the hundreds, moving his hand along the wall as he strolled away. Surely enough, what seemed to be a locker room awaited him and he stared at the swiveling metal door.

Sasuke thanked Kami for the chance to be clean again and moved his palm to shove on the door before pausing. Wait, was this the girl's locker room? If it was, he really wasn't up for a punch as mighty as Karin's should he walk in on the women. He figured that since there was only one, this must be a male wing of the building, and slowly pushed the door open.

The hissing of showers greeted his ears and he was delighted to hear that only one other man was showering behind a curtain. Shower heads reached over cement separations of stalls, all lined with white curtains. On the wall to his right was a shelf of fresh towels and a bucket of used ones, grabbing a plush towel. He made his way over to a shower stall and snapped the curtain open, quickly undressing himself and throwing his clothes to hang over the wall. He learned that as soon as he turned the nozzle on, the water was already warm, something that screamed stolen Sector technology to him. But he didn't mind.

Sasuke grabbed the small bottle of shampoo and soap off of the wall and hurriedly poured a copious amount over his head, scrubbing his scalp with all the little energy he had. It smelled of peppermint and something told him that it wasn't exactly a man's shampoo, but he could care less. His hair felt much lighter as some blood ran down the drain between his feet, some amounts of his hair falling out due to stress. He wasn't surprised.

He dipped his head back into the water, letting it cascade over his shoulders and down his body. The butterfly closure remained intact on his face and he glanced down to the bottle of generic soap in his hand. It had been a while since he'd had the chance to clean his body.

Squirting a generous amount of body wash onto his hands, he voluntarily washed away what he could of Kimimaro's disgusting sweat and blood of his body; the newfound pain and loss of Itachi going down the drain with dried blood and dirt. To him, it was almost like starting a new beginning every time he bathed. He vowed himself to do his best to stop all confusion towards Naruto and act with his heart like the other did so often, having read that doing so would bring him relief and happiness.

He rubbed his foot against his leg and sighed, jumping when the other occupant of a shower turned his off. He rubbed at his body for the second time, pressing harshly against his skin and nearly wishing that almost all of it would wash away.

Relieved, Sasuke stood facing the spray of the shower and turned the nozzle off, watching as it diminished to a leak and the last of the hot water slid over his calves and ankles. He grabbed his towel off of the wall, quickly drying off and stepping into his clothes once again. He felt refreshed and, most importantly of all, _clean_. For once he didn't smell faintly of dried sweat, blood, dirt, or a combination of the three. It was definitely new to smell slightly of mint and some kind of woody scent.

He stepped out and toweled his hair out again, quickly discarding of his towel in its designated bucket and exiting the shower rooms. He strolled to his door and brought out his key, easily unlocking the door. Again, the lights automatically turned on, a problem that Sasuke noticed had arisen. It was easily solved when he noticed a wheel to the right of his door that turned the lights to various levels of brightness.

He toed off his boots, leaving them next to each other by the door. Sasuke made way to the bed with a large pillow resting on top of its simple white sheets. Knowing that nobody was there to witness them, he allowed himself to fall forward on top of the mattress, lightly bouncing.

The sheets were soft and tickled his face. He rolled over onto his back and threw his arm over his eyes, sighing as the soft material pressed against his back. It felt heavenly to lie on a bed, and one that was predictably meant to be his own, not one in a house that he had broken into to search for food or water.

He stood up slowly and pulled the covers back, moving back to his door and shutting the lights off. Sasuke finally slid into the bed, tucking his legs under the sheets.

He laid on his left side for what seemed like the first time in forever, staring at the small sliver of light that came through the bottom of his door. It hit his table and the very crease where the wall met the floor, making the white walls appear grey.

The pillow cloth felt unnatural against his face, as did the air pockets of his mattress against his body. It fit comfortably against his body and, yes, he appreciated it, but there was something he'd never get over about simply laying on hard ground with nothing more than a few blankets and perhaps an extra one to use as a pillow.

But still, after over twenty-four hours without any sleep and a total of a two-hour nap and a hearty meal, he could not fall asleep. For all the wishing for slumber he had done within the past day, it was ironic that his eyes wouldn't close shut no matter how hard he tried to. It was like they disobeyed his neurological commands, remaining open for a robot that wouldn't roll in or a scout that would never sneak inside.

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><p>AN: Thank you all so much for the 100 reviews! This is a monster of a fic and I'm relieved a lot of you stayed around to see everyone where they all right now. I'm grateful to each and every one of you for taking the time to read this behemoth and all of its characters and plot twists, so thanks again! Temari knows how it is, haha. This chapter was too much fun to write! I'm relieved to be in a more sturdy area of the fic before we enforce the plot. Now it's time for some romance, right? Let me know what you think!


	21. Raw Innocence

Chapter 20: Raw Innocence

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><p>The refrigerator opened with the sharp clinks of glasses and containers against each other, the low rumble of its ice maker accompanying the slide of its doors. Sasuke stuck his head inside of the fridge, squinting his eyes from the brightness and scrutinizing every single food item it held. Most of the containers of vegetables, instant everythings, and uncooked meats looked edible enough, untouched and neatly organized.<p>

He had laid in bed for about three hours, drifting in and out of nightmares and unwelcome memories before deciding that he was tired of being tired and got up to explore the building. He had used the urinal in the locker room, having to turn on the light. The dull clicks above his head as he walked through his dorm wing let him know that it was around three in the morning and the lights under anyone else's rooms were off.

Sasuke had lingered the neighboring halls and eventually used the quiet makeshift elevator to venture to the lobby and another large room it held. It held dozens of crude metal tables with scraps of food on them, small puddles of water, soda, juice and the occasional bent paper plate. A smaller room inside that room led him to a large kitchen with a fridge and pantry that seemed welcoming enough. He was starving, anyway.

He eyed a sandwich spread and quickly remembered an article he had read in one of Karin's magazines. Foods that triggered some sort of chemical in his brain to help him sleep… but a placebo affect would do, too. Sasuke pushed the twin doors farther open and ducked into the fridge, pulling out a few items and nearly knocking over an open bowl of strawberries.

As he leant over his turkey and hummus sandwich, an abomination Naruto would have surely yelled in his ear for, the hanging light above him shuddered and flickered. He glanced up, sending it a questioning look and peeled the crust off of the wheat bread, eating it alone before the meal as he always did. Perhaps the shuddering meant something was moving above ground, but he didn't feel as if he should be concerned.

"You're welcome," an irritated voice startled him.

Sasuke turned to the origin of the voice and raised an eyebrow, leaning on the kitchen island and picking at the bread's crust. "Oh. Well, thanks for the shelt-"

"I've already heard about how thankful you are for the place to say," Temari interrupted, crossing her arms over her white robe and scratching her leg with her bare foot.

_Oh_. Sasuke wasn't stupid, and his mother had hounded over his manners in situations like this. "I hope this is okay-"

"Eat all you want," she sighed and meandered over to the pantry across from him, flicking the light on inside and leaning against the doorframe to inspect the snacks inside. "I'm saying welcome 'cause I saved your ass."

Sasuke's sandwich hovered halfway between his hands and his mouth. He lowered it back to the marble island and cocked his head.

Temari snatched a bag of dried fruit from a shelf and clicked the light off, shutting the door behind her. "What, did you think blondie came to rescue you on his own? Kimimaro wasn't going to let go just because of your bloodline."

She had been the one that shot Kimimaro? His eyes widened a fraction of an inch and he tapped his fingers into his bread, leaving indents. "You…"

"Yeah," she called over a mouthful of banana chips. "You're welcome."

Sasuke was silenced for a few moments, both by awe and holding back a sarcastic comment that Temari was blonde as well. She had literally saved his life, and anyone who did that would never be able to receive thanks efficient enough to cover the miles of gratitude.

So he swallowed roughly and settled for a, "Nice aim."

She didn't reply and swiftly walked out of the kitchen, munching on her fruit. _Damn_, he was so fucking awkward – if he ever wanted to get remotely close in a relationship with Naruto, he'd have to work on that. The other had commented so much on his "sucky" communication skills and now he had finally seen just how sucky they were.

Sasuke leant against the island again and took a large bite out of his sandwich, chewing quietly and staring at a crack in the tile on the ground. He wondered what wing Naruto's room was in, and whether or not he was sleeping soundly. He guessed that now the other didn't have Sasuke's cold feet to complain about, he would be quite literally sleeping like a baby.

Then he realized just how quiet it was without the girl's constant chatter and the occasional intimidating bellow from Sakura or Ino. Karin always seemed to be bouncing her leg, tapping her fingers, or humming a mindless song while Juugo stared at birds or took long walks. Kakashi's presence in the room always brought on some sort of mischievous activity, multiplied by ten whenever his "rival" Gai burst in. Along with Gai was dragged Tsunade and Jiraiya, always bickering at a perverted comment the older man had made, accompanied by the occasional (and quite painful) looking punch to Jiraiya's head. In the background, Lee would cheer his mentor on alongside Shino's quiet existence and some sort of challenge from Kiba with a yip from Akamaru to back his master up. In the background was himself, observing alongside the enthusiastic flow of commentary from Naruto and the periodic complaint of Shikamaru who would be woken up by that same commentary. Next to him was Ino tugging at his ear and nagging for him to wake up, we have work to do, why do you never listen to me, and Chouji bemusedly chewing on a bag of potato chips he had gotten from Kami knows where.

Sasuke's chews slowed as he accidentally pictured Itachi's solitude right behind him, stoic as ever and a long ponytail spilling over his shoulder. Holding the food in his mouth as a sour taste suddenly came upon it, he closed his eyes and the picture of Itachi faded away, instead focusing on the ridiculous and intrusive insults from Sai the damn pervert in his mind.

Altogether, he wasn't so sure that Temari was prepared for the group that she had just welcomed into her camp. They were a hefty and rowdy one, though they worked together well enough.

He finished his sandwich and dusted his hands over a sink filled with various pots and pans. Now, he hoped that he would be able to take at least a nap; he would explore a bit more, and once he tired out, he'd return to his room.

Sasuke cleaned up after himself and quietly opened the rickety swivel door to the kitchen, tapping the light off and slipping out. A few blue lanterns lining the wall allowed a dull glow to let him see where he was walking, and another small red blink from what looked like a small security camera in the corner of the large room. Oddly, he didn't feel watched.

Sasuke turned to another door and eyed the turning handle, unlocking it and peering inside. A low rumble filled the area and a few washers and dryers were stacked on top of each other, a single dryer struggling to tumble a large blanket inside. The owner of the blanket laid sprawled out on a utility cart in the corner of the room, snoring loudly with a hand on his chest. He glanced around the unkempt room, glad that he hadn't stepped inside and slipped on a piece of blank paper littering the ground. Multiple utility carts and shelves lined the walls, along with wooden cartons and a few buckets of spilled paint and detergent. Several sinks lined the wall, large and permanently stained brown with paint. It seemed like a room stuck between the label of junk and wash, humid and heavily scented of artificial flowers. He nearly sneezed from the aroma of freshly chopped wood and the laundry detergent on the floor, immediately backing out of the room and shutting the door. Sasuke would only ever go inside that room when he needed to.

He strolled to the next door, the rumble of a dryer fading behind him. A quick glance was all it took for him to turn around; the door was metal and secured with a card scanner, a pale azure falling from the small screen and lost into the darkness.

Sasuke tucked his hands into his pockets and trudged to the center of the room to get back to the elevator. He wished that it was a normal time to be awake so he could exhaust himself in the conversations of others, most favorably Naruto's. Not a single soul was awake, besides Temari's enigmatic appearance and the sleaze back in the utility room. He yanked the lever and the elevator softly creaked, barely shuddering to a start and carrying him to the lower level.

He stepped off and headed towards his wing, jiggling the key inside his pocket. Sasuke guessed he felt tired enough, and that maybe it would take him under an hour to fall asleep before being pledged by nightmares and cold sweats. He was used to it, but he no longer had his mother to shuffle in his room late at night and hurriedly click his solar system lamp on and kiss his forehead to remind him that monsters didn't exist, and no, his brother wasn't one.

Ten years and he could still remember being just over three feet tall and fifty pounds, could still remember how much he hated cookies with milk and the odd looks Itachi would give him for that. Mikoto's weight sinking into his bed late at night was still fresh in his mind as she tucked his hair behind his ear and assured him that nothing would hurt him. Sometimes even Fugaku would come out, taking pity on his son haunted by inexplicable night terrors, and read him one of the little adventure stories he kept on his bedside table. Sasuke's stubby fingers would finally stop clenching his pillowcase so tightly and he would simply rest his hand by his chest, inspecting the subtle wrinkles in his overtaxed father's face as he pushed up his reading glasses to read Sasuke the next short sentence.

It was all calming enough, he thought, and he hoped that he'd never forget. Sasuke brushed the ones from the military academy away and focused on the time that he had pretended to hate Mikoto using his fingers as a guide for knots when Christmas or birthdays rolled around.

He quietly pushed the door open to his room, quickly shutting off the light. He shuffled towards his bed, taking his sweet time to push both of his long legs under the covers and tug them up to his chest.

Maybe sharing these memories with Naruto would help him remember, because the only thing he could recall was red hair and the story Sakura had laid out for him. If the other had nights like Sasuke, where he would roam around the building and eat out of boredom and restlessness, then he deserved to dwell on the positivity that once filled his life. Naruto deserved a family, and Sasuke would never be able to live up to that.

He rolled over and shut his eyes, grateful for the cotton around his body and under his head.

* * *

><p>The whole right side of Naruto's body hung off his bed, his fingers twitching as he dreamt of chasing after chickens and cows. In the dream, he had been with Shikamaru and Kiba, but they had both either given up and fallen on their back to watch the clouds pass by (cough, Shikamaru) or tripped on a rock and hit their head so hard they passed out. So Naruto kept on chasing a huge black and white cow with a pink bow tied to its tail, mooing loudly and glaring at him over its meaty shoulder.<p>

On top of the cow's back was a fluffy young hen, squawking whenever he managed to get an arrow whizzing a feather's width away from his head. It tilted its head at quick and odd angles, stamping on the cow's back or attempting to intimidate the blond by ruffling its feathers up. They were running through an endless field of soft green grass, and for some strange reason, Naruto was naked _again_. Of course he could have a bow and arrow in this dream, but he was always naked.

The cow heaved and kicked dirt into his face, mooing loudly when the hen flew high off its back and flapped its wings. Naruto made an immediate dive onto the ground to catch it, narrowly missing being pummeled by the cow's hooves as it ran away from them. The hen landed in his hands, its claws painfully digging into his palms and its feathers ruffling, but-

"The hell are you looking at, dumbass?"

He screamed and tossed Sasuke's head out of his hands, scrambling to his feet and struggling to catch him again. He looked traditionally angry and ready to chew Naruto out for making him airborne for a few moments, scowling at the blond.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?" Sasuke snapped and his floating head tilted in Naruto's tan hands. "You better-"

"_Open up!_"

Naruto sat upright in his bed, falling onto the floor in a heavy tangle of sheets and limbs. His pillow fell right on top of his head as he struggled to wake up and process the loud banging on his room door, spreading his hands wide on the floor and pushing himself up. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, his vision blurry and his shirt twisted around his chest as a muffled female voice leaked into his room.

Naruto shoved the sheets off of himself and stood up, eyeing the door and its shaking under her fist. He swallowed heavily and carefully approached the door, raising his left hand in front of his face to protect himself should the door splinter under force and gouge his eyes out.

"Naruto!"

Kami help him, she sounded like a demon! He stared at the shaking doorknob and finally leant forward to open the door wide, shielding himself partially with the door and blinking heavily.

"Sak'ra? What're y-"

"Do you understand this?" she waved her fist in front of his chest, peering up into his eyes with a genuinely terrified look marring her face. "Do you understand what they've-"

"Wait, wait," Naruto held up both of his hands. His mind was too slow to take all of this, and hey, it was early in the morning, his clock said. Sakura's hair was ruffled out of its short ponytail and she was already dressed in her bodysuit and looking ready to kill with the takeout box in her hand. "What the hell is going on?"

"What, you just woke up?" she growled. "It's eleven, Naruto! Why the hell are you still sleeping? You missed break-"

His face fell and his shoulders slumped, regardless of the bulging vein in the middle of Sakura's forehead. Damn, he really should have set his alarm. "I did? I missed… breakfast?"

But Sakura only took part of the puppy face as bait, losing the menace in her glare and standing down, her expression calming. She crossed her arms and he could practically read her mind, knowing that she knew she had overreacted a _little bit_. "Yeah. But I saved you pancakes and a biscuit." She placed the Styrofoam box on his table, a packet of plastic utensils and mini bowls of jam and butter on top.

Naruto smiled and inched towards his breakfast, doing his best to look as best as he could with wild bed hair and wrinkled pajamas with a nearly overturned mattress behind him. "Thank you, Sa-ku-ra," he cooed.

"Oh, just eat," she sighed and simpered as he grinned to himself, seating herself next to him at his desk. He popped open the lid to the box, the sweet aroma of pancakes filling his nostrils. Naruto hadn't had pancakes in years – just the smell of them made him salivate, reaching for a packet of syrup to drown them in.

Naruto glanced at Sakura as she sighed and rested her head on her hand next to him, finishing up his first syrup packet as the last of it dribbled on the edge of a pancake. "What's got you so angry this morning?"

"Sorry about that…" she said sheepishly and tugged at a strand of her bangs, wrapping an arm around her stomach. "You must've gotten back here late last night, so you probably haven't noticed."

He scrunched his nose and poked squares out of his pancakes, stabbing his fork into the fluffy layers. "I guess I did. What is it?"

Sakura sighed. "There's only about six people in this wing of the building, and five of them are men. I watched through my door."

"You're the only girl here?" he queried over a mouthful of pancakes.

"Yes," she groaned and rested the side of her face on the table. "I asked that guy who gave us the keys why I was put with the guys, but he said it didn't matter where we roomed. I asked him to let me speak to Temari-"

Naruto scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You mean threatened to beat the shit outta him-"

"Shut the hell up, Uzumaki," she growled. "but, of course, she's busy, and won't schedule a meeting with anyone other than her guards and spies."

He paused and swallowed his mouthful, sticking his fork in his mouth to lick the syrup off of it. "Maybe you should see if there's a guy in another wing that'll switch with you."

"I think I'll look into that," she said, drawing an invisible pattern on her hand. "But I want to take a shower."

Naruto looked around and tossed the box into a trashcan next to the table, picking his biscuit into little pieces. "I can see where this is going," he sang.

"Just stand around and make sure nobody goes in my stall, okay?"

"-and I see what you did," he continued. "You bribed me with breakfast so I could be your watchman."

She sighed. "Quick as ever, Naruto. Wipe the drool off your face and just go with it."

Naruto quickly slapped his palms over either side of his mouth, dragging them together to rid himself of the dried drool on the left side of his face. She laughed and stood up, wiping the crumbs off of the desk and onto the floor.

"Hey!" he snapped, holding the door for himself open behind her.

"It's not like you would have done any better," she teased, taking a right to the end of the hall. Sakura lived just a few doors down from him, and allowed him to see her identical room before shooing him to the shower room.

Naruto grunted and trudged to the bathroom, pushing the door open and glancing around. He hadn't taken a shower either, but it seemed all the more tempting with decent and private stalls. If the leftover steam in the room wasn't an indicator that there was hot water, he thought as he motioned for Sakura to come inside, he'd be tickled pink.

"How on earth can you stand to be so dirty?" she scolded and shut herself inside a stall.

Naruto frowned. "I was too tired to take a shower last night," he insisted.

"And so help me if you don't take one right after I'm done," she called over the spray of her shower.

He ignored her jabs and made quick use of one of the urinals in the corner of the room, hoping that the flush wouldn't have Sakura screeching at him. He patiently waited for her to finish up by sitting on a sink, staring at a few uniforms hanging on the wall, putting his feet in front of each other one by one along the wall…

"Hey, you've been in there for over thirty minutes!" he yelled. "You're gonna use up all the hot water in the whole damn building!"

"Shut up," she called back. "I need to pamper myself."

Naruto scowled. He wasn't sure what pampering meant, but he damned sure didn't like the sound of it, and if it was taking this long, then he definitely didn't like it. He leant against the wall and poked through the long cabinet above the sink. The men that lived in this wing had organized their belongings inside – anything from shaving cream, gross used ravers, and an extra pair of underwear. He eyed a pair of scissors and turned as Sakura shut off her water and her towel disappeared from the shower curtain.

Well, his hair had certainly gotten a lot longer. Some of his bangs poked him in the eye and went inside his ear, the hair on top of his head beginning to curl a bit at the ends and looking weighed down. He didn't trust himself to put a pair of scissors _anywhere _near his body.

"Sakura, will you cut my hair?" he asked, opening and closing the blades between his fingers.

She hummed, opening her shower curtain and emerging with a towel on top of her head and the same bodysuit she had been wearing before. "But Tsunade always cut it for you in the past."

Naruto could see his blurry reflection on the left blade. He was nothing but a tan and blond blur on the metal. "I wanna change it up."

"Okay," she shrugged and rubbed the towel on top of her head.

He placed the scissors on the edge of the sink and grabbed a clean towel from the shelf by the door, throwing it over his shoulder and slinking into a stall next to the one Sakura had used. There was generic shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in a grove on the cement wall. He stripped and threw his clothes over the wall, tugging the water to hot and standing away from the stream as it heated up.

Truth be told, he probably should have taken a shower last night. He was sore and still pretty cut up, but the small areas all over his body Tsunade had disinfected had made him feel clean enough. Naruto stuck his hand into the stream, stepping under the hot water and tilting his head back to let it run over his chest.

_Finally_, he thought, a night that had ended well. He was finally somewhere he could get a full night's sleep, wake up to three full meals a day, and end it with a hot shower. Naruto wondered how he would ever thank Temari for letting them join forces. He flipped open the cap of a shampoo bottle and poured it straight onto his head, setting it to the side and roughly working his fingers into his tangled locks. His hair felt heavy on his head, ruthless suds threatening to fall into his eyes and burn his irises.

Sakura hummed somewhere deeper in the locker room, audibly brushing out the tangles in her hair. Naruto washed the thick soap out of his hair, the dense clumps of water hitting the shower tiles with loud slaps. He was tempted to whip his hair forward and make himself a mohawk, but better judgment filled him and he simply washed down the rest of his body with a cloth. Whoever owned the body wash had an overly masculine sense of smell; the odor of the gel reminded Naruto of gasoline and wood. He supposed such luxuries here were taken advantage of, though, and he'd eventually have to run out and loot his own essentials.

The door to the room swung open. Sakura must have left, he concluded, too impatient to wait for him. Geez, and he waited almost an hour for her just because she wanted to get all pretty! And who for, anyway? Sasuke said it was redundant to-

Naruto nearly gasped as he saw the real meaning of the situation, his eyes wide as he held a ball of foam in both of his hands. _Him!_ She was getting ready for him! He smothered soap into his stomach. He would have to stop her from making any advances, but now he was cornered, in a shower, _naked _behind a curtain-

The locker room door swung open quietly again and he pressed himself against the same wall the shower head hung from. Sakura was a master of stealth and was nothing less than intelligent - she had probably planned this moment out for years.

Naruto hissed as a figure was barely decipherable through the opaque shower curtain, pressing himself into the cold shower corner and covering his dick with a shower cloth. Never did he think a moment like this would ever come, one in which he would be tracked like game and violated-

Sakura's dainty hand appeared over the curtain rail and a plastic package hit him square in the face. In a few minutes, he would deny that the sound he had made wasn't a _squeak _but a manly gasp of surprise. It loudly slid off of his face and against his chest before hitting the floor.

"I think we're all supposed to be wearing it," she called, moving away from the curtain and towards the counter. "It's pretty comfortable."

Naruto bent over and picked up the package. He wasn't surprised to see that it was the jumpsuit everyone in this place sported. It was heavy in his hands, reminding him of the tights Lee strutted around in all the time. The blond rinsed off once more and shut off the water, tossing the package to the top of the wall lining the stalls. He made quick work of drying himself off, glancing towards the curtain every few moments. Naruto grabbed the jumpsuit off the wall and quickly unwrapped it, letting the plastic fall to the floor and the suit unfold in front of him. It seemed harmless, made out of thick, thermal, and waterproof material.

He squinted his eyes at it, expecting it to start moving on its own or suck him into a vortex of another dimension. It had no zipper, so he stretched the neck of the suit. Substantially stretchy, he noted, cautiously stepping into it. Because his skin was freshly warm, it dragged along his thigh as he yanked it up before jamming his other foot inside and struggling to stand. He leant away from the wall and snaked his left arm into its respective hole. The material rolled on his back as he dragged it higher and higher and finally, he was able to smooth out the single roll along his neckline.

Naruto frowned. Wow. Was he supposed to wear underwear with this? If he was supposed to, then oh well, and if he wasn't, he appreciated that. It densely covered any provocative dips in his body and held everything together comfortably. Now it felt like he was wearing almost nothing, able to move freely. No wonder Rock Lee and Gai seemed to favor these things so much.

He pushed open the shower curtain and exited, dragging his towel behind him. Sakura sighed from her stool in front of the sinks, shaking her head at her friend's antics. Naruto wrapped the towel around his shoulders and neck, trudging towards her. She raised her hand and clipped the scissors in his face, moving out of his way so that he could take a seat in the stool.

Seeing her in the jumpsuit made Naruto a bit nostalgic. Now she had evolved from the skinny ribbon-wearing pal he'd share animal crackers with in daycare to some _woman_ with subtle curves and a mature face. He knew her as Stop Stealing My Apple Juice Sakura, not Puberty Has Done Me Well Sakura.

"Okay," Sakura said, pumping the stool so that the back of his head was level with her chest. Naruto could only see his eyes in the mirror now, widening them at Sakura. His hair was a golden and shaggy mop atop his head. "Oh, Kami…" she sighed.

He grinned, knocking his ankles against each other. He closed his eyes as Sakura raked her hand through his hair, gently massaging his scalp and combing out some large knots.

"What is this bush you call hair?" she joked, grabbing a brush off the counter and tugging it through his hair.

"I think that it's beautiful."

He watched Sakura smile through the mirror. She finished brushing his hair and caught his eyes in their reflection, once again raising her scissors and snapping the blades against each other. She picked up a lock of hair on the top of his head. "And you just want a trim, right? Want me to cut it like Sasuke's?"

Naruto gasped dramatically. "No!"

His chuckles and Sakura's giggles echoed throughout the locker room. Smiling, she trimmed about an inch off the lock of hair and twirled it in her fingers for him to behold. She dropped it on the towel and quickly got to work, diligently cutting his hair at a slightly sharp angle so it wouldn't be choppy.

Naruto watched his own hair fall to his shoulders out of the corner of his eye. He picked up a chunk of some, running his fingers over it and parting it to toss it in the sink. Blond, blond, blond showered the towel and he realized just how much hair he had.

"Sergeant Suna said that we'd each have a few days off," Sakura said, her hand tickling the back of his neck. "Then she'd put us in conditioning."

He sighed. "At least we're doing something now. We're being productive… it's a lot better than what Kabuto tried to propose."

Sakura paused, snipping away the long hairs above his left ear. "I know," she murmured. "I don't think I should say this, but… it's kind of a pity. I know they're all good as dead on their own."

Naruto pursed his lips. "Maybe they made it to wherever he took them."

She shook her head and sighed. "Our friends walked away, just like that…" she tugged a bit too roughly on a sensitive patch of hair and he felt the cold metal brush against his ear. "And Neji took Hinata with him. She didn't do anything to deserve that."

"I can see why he did. Neji was an ass, but he always protected Hinata…"

Despite the cold feeling their rogue friends brought upon them, their memories were brighter. "I wish I could have family like that," Sakura said wistfully, turning him in the stool so she could work on his bangs.

He said nothing, letting her words hang in the warm air. Family… the closest family he had was the members of their former camp. Family was something he hadn't known in over ten years, stolen from him by a Sector. Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Karin all felt like sisters to him, Tsunade and Jiraiya being godparent figures to him and Kakashi and Gai being the creepy uncles in his extended family. Itachi… Itachi had been a lurking guardian to him, somehow guiding him into his bit of an unrequited love. Naruto glanced into the mirror. She had leant down to fiddle with a stubborn piece of hair on his temple, her pale green eyes pensive and attentive.

"I feel bad for Sasuke," she whispered. "He doesn't look to be taking it well at all."

"He is," Naruto assured. "He's just really tired. Did you see him at breakfast?"

"Yes. But one of his wing mates must have woken him up since he didn't look too enthusiastic about being there. You need to wake up earlier so you can be with him."

He pursed his lips. "Is he really doing that bad? Will you wake me up if I'm not already awake for breakfast?"

"Maybe, maybe not - and I'll try. You sleep like the dead."

Naruto pressed his fingers together as Sakura ruffled out his shorter hair, setting her palm on the stool so she could have an all-around view of his scalp. She turned him so that they were facing each other, hovering above him to finger his bangs. Sakura messed with the pieces of hair framing either side of his face, glancing back and forth between them to ensure that they were even. She stepped back to inspect Naruto even further, rushing forward to chop away at the hairs atop his head. He stared at her thin waist and the ribs barely protruding from her (not very ample) chest. Sakura smelled of some flowery body wash that kind of made his nose itch.

She stepped back and studied him again, fluffing his hair with both of her hands and offering Naruto a small smile. "You look like your dad."

He grinned and nearly overturned the stool to stare at himself in the mirror. His hair was no longer some shame of an overgrown plant, now returned to its characteristic spikes that didn't fall into his eyes or tickle his ears.

"Thanks, Sakura!" He grabbed her by the shoulders, startling Sakura and attempting to twirl her around in between her attempts to sock him in the gut.

Regardless, she burst into a fit of light giggles. Naruto did his best not to hurt her and to dodge her killer punches.

They were interrupted by a colossal growl, eerie in the empty room. Sakura gave him a mighty roll of her eyes and he scratched the back of his neck, sending her a lighthearted grin.

"I haven't eaten in a while, alright?"

"As if four pancakes and a biscuit would ever hold you up," she scoffed. "Silly me. You eat enough for three."

"I am a growing _man_," Naruto boasted, holding the door open for her.

Sakura shook her head. "Lunch is around noon. You don't have to wait for long. Aren't you glad you owe me a favor now?"

He tilted his head, walking beside her as they passed closed door after closed door. "Actually, I think we're even now. That was for the time you hit me in the head with a bas-"

"_Really_, Naruto?" she groused. "We were four. I can't believe you."

Naruto laughed and pushed her a bit, crossing his arms behind his head. "Hey, what goes around comes around."

She rolled her eyes and stepped on the ledge that would take them to the upper level. "I'm only thankful that you even remember that right now."

Naruto pursed his lips at her hesitancy to address his memories. "They're coming back little by little… everything - my memories, I mean."

Sakura hummed. "I see."

He nodded and crossed his arms behind his back, gently rocking back and forth on his heels. Their heads finally rose above the floor of the next level, the elevator clicking as it aligned with the cement floor. Others roamed around them, nobody short of business-like and just beginning to settle down as they stood around to wait for lunch. Some already carried platters of various foods to flimsy rectangular tables with built in benches. Naruto eyed the meat and patties a woman was carrying around on a tray.

"A lot of us have already started to mingle," Sakura jolted him from his thoughts and pushed him towards the last tables. "Like the adults went out and introduced themselves to everyone. There's not too many people here our age, so…"

"I don't wanna eat while Granny Tsunade tells me to slow down!"

"Everyone tells you to slow down, Naruto."

He harrumphed and ignored the gazes on the back of his neck from people he didn't know. Sooner or later, they'd all come to know the great Naruto Uzumaki, whether they liked it or not.

A table filled with all to familiar faces came into his view. It seemed like everyone from his camp had crammed together in one table, an abundance of water bottles sitting in front of each of them. Backs facing Sakura and he, half of Chouji's butt was hanging off the end of the bench and Lee was practically sitting on his lap, squashed up to Shikamaru whom had never looked so miserable in his life. Ino and Tenten were sitting comfortably together, Ino's leg folded where an evident space for Sakura was saved in-between her and Kiba, Konohamaru ending that side of the table. Across from them, Juugo took up a vast majority of the bench and squeezed Suigetsu into Karin, who didn't look all to begrudging to be smushed into Sasuke. His best friend looked nothing short of furious, leaning forward so that his shoulders wouldn't be poking into Shino's. At the end of the bench facing him, an empty spot worthy enough of his ass nearly shined in the overhead light; however, Sai looked a bit cheeky to have that spot next to him, and Sakura ran off to be with her friends.

Naruto made a decision within a few seconds. His possible choices were A) to sit next to Sai and possibly be molested/mocked/harassed or all three, or B) of which he had already chosen…

He skirted around the table and made a beeline for Sasuke, using Sasuke's right shoulder as leverage to squeeze his ass between his and Karin's hips, smashing all three of their faces together. Naruto grinned, loving the feel of soft skin on his cheeks, feeling pretty damn affectionate. Karin squawked to his right and, in a lame attempt to figure out what had just happened, Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto, effectively squishing their cheeks together again. The blond snickered and greeted his friend, being acknowledged with a simple grunt and a shove.

"There's this thing called personal space, dumbass," Sasuke snapped. "Do you understand it?"

"I understand it, all right," Naruto leered at his friend. "I have just momentarily disregarded it."

The other scoffed. Before and from a distance, he had looked all to pale and reluctant to even be there, but now, a subtle flush of color returned to Sasuke's face and the confident glint had returned to his eyes. He noted that Sasuke was still in his pajamas.

Chouji suddenly slammed a long silver platter and a stack of paper plates on the table, filled with foods that made Naruto's jaw drop. Chicken wings, beef patties, beans, and a bunch of vegetables that he could care less for.

"Don't let Chouji touch it first!" Ino screeched and dove for the paper plates, hip-bumping Chouji out of the way. "Save yourselves!"

Karin shoved him further into Sasuke to stand up and cram food onto her plate, nearly sending them tumbling onto Shino and Sai. He griped something incoherent to Naruto that was drowned out by his utter lust towards the wonderful food, grasping for a paper plate.

Sasuke growled and pressed equally as roughly against Naruto, their shoulders jabbing each other in the sides as they fought to get food for themselves. The blond cried out when Karin grabbed him by the ear and pushed him back into his seat, his plate overflowing with food and the vegetables Sakura had snuck onto it while he was eyeing the meat.

He chewed with much gusto a few minutes later. There was some food left on the platter, but only enough for about four of them to get seconds. Suigetsu belched loudly an earned a well-aimed punch from Karin along with a few hearty cheers from Kiba and Konohamaru.

Naruto rolled his peas around his plate, wincing at the thought of eating them. He glanced over to Sasuke, who had slowly eaten his food in a counter-clockwise circle like the snob he was. He elbowed the other in the side. "Are you gonna finish that?"

"I'm gonna finish it. Eat your vegetables," Sasuke chided, nearly poking at a pea with the tip of his fork.

"No!"

"You're gonna get sick. If you're really not, at least give me your corn."

Naruto scowled and pondered if not eating his vegetables would really make him sick. He reluctantly sent his friend a sheepish glance and slowly put a forkful of peas in his mouth, making a sour face as he chewed.

Sasuke snickered and tossed a thin piece of white meat onto his plate.

Suigetsu belched loudly again, this time making the whole table smell like sulfur. Karin continued shouting at him and Shikamaru actually shivered from the smell.

"You piece of fuckin' shit! Sergeant Suna's on her way over here and you pull shit like this-"

"She's on her way over here?" Ino gasped and hit her hand on the table. "Kami, save us!" She picked up her empty paper plate and waved it around.

"What the fuck," Sasuke grumbled, watching the (somehow rejuvenated) woman clad in a pressed uniform near their table, surprisingly without her watchdogs.

"I think it's best if you learn your table manners soon, Suigetsu," Juugo said.

"Hello all," the woman announced, looking oddly professional with her hair pulled back in four ponytails. "How's the food?"

They all looked like a deer caught in headlines for a few seconds, trying to decide who would speak up first. Chouji finally took the initiative, raising his chubby fingers in a greeting.

"It's great. Thank you, Sergeant, for the food."

"Don't thank me," she deadpanned and placed both of her palms flat on the table, frowning once she made eye contact with Sai. "Everything we have is from the Sectors."

Someone choked on their water.

"Never mind that," she waved her hand and angled her body away from Sai's intense gaze. "I guess all of you have a… duty… you need to perform. It's only protocol to have my new recruits up for forest cleanup."

"The hell are we picking papers for?" Kiba grimaced.

"Excuse me," Temari shook her head. "Forest cleanup here is ranging the woods for Katons and scouts, which there are usually a few of. I send my new recruits out there to see how they're doing. Whoever makes it back, cool, they'll move on to training within a few days, and whoever doesn't probably wouldn't make it here in the first place."

Her words hung in the air and, once again, nobody said anything. Naruto didn't dare to move should he attract her attention to him, intimidated enough by her presence.

"So you'll have forest cleanup tomorrow afternoon. Heal up and do your best," she pushed off the table. "And good luck." Temari sent a discreet wink to Sasuke.

"Already?" Naruto whined. He brushed his hands together, crumbs falling onto his plate. He followed what everyone else had done and put their empty plates in a pile inside the platter, polishing off his water bottle and tossing it in there as well. The blond was just about to stretch out and rest his head in his arms when Sasuke stood and turned to leave.

Naruto stood as well, almost kicking Karin in the side as he did so. "That was some good food, right?"

"It was," Sasuke said simply, tilting his chin down.

"That reminds me," Naruto kicked his heels on the floor as he walked next to Sasuke towards the elevator. "What wing are you in? Where's your room?"

The other sighed heavily, figuring Naruto wouldn't stop bugging him until the day ended. "You'll see. I want to sleep, Naruto, so if you're planning to mess around, just go play a game of cards with Kakashi or something."

"I promise I'll be quiet," he whispered as they stepped on the elevator, a polite distance away from another adult. "The only person I know in my wing is Sakura and she wants to have girl time _all the time_. Save me?"

"I think you'll do just fine," Sasuke deadpanned, eyeing just how large the population of this camp was as the ledge went higher and higher.

"Just lemme stay over sometime. I don't think I can handle waking up as early as she does. Please?" Naruto bent his knees to tilt his head up at Sasuke, trying to look as desperate as he could without crossing the line of constipated.

The elevator jerked to a stop at the lowest level, spray painted letters lining the walls. "Fine," Sasuke sighed.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for late update. First time uploading off a Mac. Anyway, woo! S5 hit 20 chapters and I'm sure you guys want some action (of the romance kind). What'd you guys think so far? Does Temari give you pretty comforting vibes, too? I seriously appreciate your feedback, so don't forget to leave a little somethin'. Later.


	22. Short Circuit

Chapter 21: Short Circuit

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><p>"You're being cold," Naruto said, sending his friend a bland look. They stepped off of the ledge and he let the other lead the way.<p>

Sasuke glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Sorry. I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

The blond snorted out of his nose and glanced down each wide corridor they passed, the numbers of the dorm wings slowly increasing. "I'm in two, room nine."

Sasuke hummed. "I'm all the way in nine. Room seventy six."

A few loud men, presumably a group of buddies, slammed their doors open in wing three. They came out from a room laughing raucously and slapping each other on the back, their muddled conversation echoing down the hall. Naruto pursed his lips and glanced at his friend. Sasuke was probably stuck in a wing where he was surrounded by people he didn't know, and probably wouldn't attempt to get to know, either, a small voice in the back of Naruto's head told him.

"I guess everyone forgot about you, right?" Naruto murmured. He knew that, at first, Sasuke would take his question as a mocking one, but he was smart enough to recognize his empathetic tone.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Well, everyone magically forgot about Itachi, right?"

Sasuke's head snapped towards him, a hostile sneer on his lips. "I thought I told you-"

"Stupid bastard," Naruto grabbed him by the shoulder, a rough touch that was supposed to be comforting. He wished he hadn't took such a brash handle of their conversation, but subtlety had never been his area of expertise. He swallowed and loosened his grip, fumbling to plan out what he was going to say.

"I didn't forget about you," Naruto blurted, mentally cursing himself for making Sasuke upset. He awkwardly cast his eyes to the ground once the other dropped the defensive look on his face, instead tilting his head in curiosity. "I just… wanted to know how you were doing."

"Fine," Sasuke said softly, also looking everywhere else but at Naruto. There was an overwhelming urge somewhere in him to just _stare_ at the blond, and his eyes kept flickering towards him against his will.

"I thought you already knew you couldn't lie to me."

"I'm not."

"_Dammit_, Sasuke. If you don't talk to me, I'm gonna hug you."

Sasuke shrugged the hand off his shoulder and grabbed the room key out of his pocket, moodily jamming it into the doorknob and roughly jerking it open. His light only brightened to a barely-there glow, the same setting that he'd had it on the night before. It was enough to see Naruto's face.

He toed off his boots and pushed Naruto in the chest until he did the same. Sasuke ignored the other, padding towards his own unmade bed and throwing back the covers. Kusanagi's sheath lay horizontally on top of his dresser, as did his rifle, their shoulder straps tangling together. Naruto rolled the chair in front of his desk to his bed as Sasuke nestled inside his sheets and stubbornly turned away from him.

Naruto leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and staring at Sasuke's shirt folded and wrinkled on his back. Kami… it seemed like he sometimes needed a crowbar, even more than that, to get Sasuke to open up sometimes. It was painful to both of them, but he knew the other was _dying_ for a venting session like this, and he'd gain Sasuke's trust like no other.

He might have let Sasuke doze off for a few minutes before deciding to harass him again. "Don't be an asshole."

His shoulder tensed, but Sasuke still said nothing. "I'm not trying to pick a fight," Naruto whispered, itching to pet the back of Sasuke's head. "You don't need to go on the defense every time someone shows that they care about you."

The blond could feel the slight irritation radiating from Sasuke. Fuck, he needed to figure out what to say, and _fast_ before he screwed things up even more. He wasn't as good with words as the other was, and he certainly wasn't thinking a couple of steps ahead like Sasuke usually did. "I'm just… here. Letting you know that you're _still_ not alone."

"And if you want me to leave, then fine. Just don't get all confused when you push me away and wonder why nobody's asking how you are." Naruto awkwardly clenched his fists on the mattress.

Sasuke pursed his lips, playing with the cheap fleece blanket that lay under his comforter. He'd been tearing the stiff and dusty smelling material at its edges, growing increasingly frustrated with himself as Naruto lectured him. Something that had planted itself in him roused during the speech, wanting to yell at Naruto and banish him from his room, push him miles and miles away and simply _hurt _him. Another bigger part, one that had remained from his childhood, was lulled to comfort by Naruto's presence; it glowed when he spoke, smiled, walked… _lived_. It was utterly conflicting having the both of them rouse inside him at the same time. It was confusing and frustrating and restless. But when he had time to think it over, and for all that he had gained and lost, Sasuke knew one thing for sure…

Naruto sighed out of frustration and maybe just a bit of disappointment. If Sasuke wanted to be a piece of shit, then maybe he really _should_ leave him to be a piece of shit by himself, as Kakashi had told him. The man was the only other being with enough patience to drag things out of Sasuke. He bowed his head and the bed dipped when he rested his head in his arms, close to Sasuke's back.

"I miss him."

His eyes widened and he perked his ears, slightly rising from his arms. The more territorial side of him woke up from his slumber. Sasuke had said something! Sasuke had said something about his brother to _him_, Naruto, and not anybody else!

"I would, too," Naruto said. "He didn't hate you. I hope you know that it's not your fault."

Sasuke said nothing and opted to drag his sheets a bit tighter around himself.

"He didn't hate you," the blond repeated, this time with a fierce determination to make Sasuke believe him. "Not even for a split second."

The other quietly rolled over, his left hand lying palm up and relaxed right next to Naruto's face. This wasn't something he was accustomed to - to Sasuke looking vulnerable and his age for once. His hair splayed out on the pillow, the sharp angle of his jaw revealed as well as a good portion of his forehead. A wonderful expanse of pale skin as his shirt collar tucked away from his chest, his collarbone prominent from the space it provided. He planted his face against the sheets right next to Sasuke's hand so they could look at each other.

"And didn't you always want a bit of freedom for him?" He tried to send a lighthearted smile to the other. "You've told me a thousand times that you can take care of yourself - proved it, by the way, and taking care of my ass in the meanwhile."

Exhaustion, gratitude, relaxation, a relief shone in his dark eyes. If Sasuke couldn't say something, Naruto could rely on his eyes to tell the story.

"Will you promise me…" Sasuke's voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat. "That if I ever stray away from y-all of this, you'll get me back?"

"I think you already have, just a little," Naruto frowned. "But I'm working on it. Promise. Just work with me right now. Let's do some teamwork."

He grunted, flexing his fingers so that they barely brushed Naruto's cheek. A fond expression came over Sasuke's face, one he would never show in full consciousness. He looked so much younger than his words took them, and Naruto wanted nothing more than to earn that look again. It was for him, only him, brought upon by him, and because of him. "'M tired."

"I know." Naruto struggled not to nuzzle into that pale hand. He eyed the network of green veins in his wrist hiding until they were visible in his inner elbow again, where a small bruise had formed.

Sasuke finally shut his eyes, relaxing against the pillow. His lips were parted just slightly, not enough for drool to come out, but enough to make his breathing audible. Naruto dared to scoot closer to that hand, resting his ear on the other's warm wrist.

He closed his eyes as he listened to the captivating _boom _as Sasuke's blood filled his veins. It hadn't been like this in a while - where Sasuke could finally stop grumbling after a night of worrying and settle down when Naruto assured him that he'd stay alert. Just watching the other boy made him drowsy.

Once he was one hundred and ten percent sure that Sasuke had fallen asleep, he found solace in resting his cheek against his hand. Given, Sasuke would gripe at him for drooling in his hand and his baby fat swelled to obstruct the vision in his left eye, but Naruto wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass by. He weakly smiled into the other's dozing face, longing to tuck a piece of dark hair behind a pale ear and see even more of those features.

Naruto smacked his lips together and shut his eyes, contently nuzzling Sasuke's palm. He leant comfortably on the bed, reveling in how warm his hands were. Of course, years of living in the open and having to fend for himself gave Sasuke those rough calluses just before the juncture of each finger and on the tip of each, as well as the narrow meaty part of his palm before his thumb. Naruto leant out of his hand and brought up his own to trace the lifeline etched into the other's palm. He ran his middle finger down the dips and curves of the lines, thanking whatever higher force out there that had kept Sasuke's palm warm and his hair growing and his breaths heavier. Naruto swallowed roughly and slipped his fingers between the other's, clutching their hands together gently as he rested his cheek against the soft sheets.

* * *

><p>He dreamed of running through the woods and tripping, but every time he looked down, he had no legs or arms. Naruto had no body, actually, and it seemed like he was a spirit floating through the forest but having its being tangled with the thick tree roots. Later on, though, his dream shifted to something like sitting across from Sasuke in a wide, white room. They had a plate of food on, in which Naruto insisted that the other eat all of, but Sasuke had a bit more of a logical idea to split it in a perfect half for the both of them.<p>

Sasuke had already woken before he did. He made no move or comment to acknowledge their clutching hands. When Naruto opened his eyes, his friend had already been staring at him. With his cheek slightly smushed into the pillow and a case of bed head that couldn't be named anything other than _wild_, he still looked one thousand percent intimidating and stony.

"What time is it?" Sasuke murmured, his fingers jumping around Naruto's when he rested his chin on the sheets.

The blond was just about to ask where the hell Sasuke had placed his clock, but shut his mouth once he saw it was directly behind him on the bedside table.

"Didn't want to move," the other supplied, kicking his legs under the sheets.

Naruto squinted. "Is that a three or an eight?" He felt so refreshed. It was hard to believe that they had only napped a couple of hours.

Sasuke grunted and turned his head, cracking his neck in the process.

"Stop it!" Naruto whined.

"Three?" Sasuke sat up, their hands still intertwined. "It's three _A.M_?" He rolled over and scooped the alarm into his hand, holding the clock a few inches away from his face. "Holy shit…"

"What? We missed dinner?"

Sasuke groaned and threw himself back onto the bed, shoving Naruto in the shoulder as he rested on his side. "You're thinking about food when we slept for… fifteen hours?"

"That's crazy," the blond mumbled. "Didn't realize I was so tired."

The other sighed, rolling onto his stomach. It seemed like he had a roll for being up at ungodly hours of the night, and without much effort, at that. His pale arm hung off the side of the bed and Naruto played with his hand, swinging it back and forth.

"Did you know," Naruto mumbled, "That your father was a _son_?"

Sasuke opened one eye to stare at the blond before raising himself up on one elbow and raising an eyebrow. "Naruto… what kind of things were you dreaming about? And, are you sure that you haven't been sleepwalking again? Maybe you went outside and leant against a tree that had some sort of strange fungus on it - hell, maybe you ate it, because that's so _norm_-"

Naruto ripped his pillow from underneath him and hit Sasuke square in the chest, climbing on the bed and trying his best to smother the other teen. Sasuke grunted and punched at his arms, finally getting the blond to roll off of him by kneeing him in the gut and shoving him away by the shoulders.

Naruto groaned as he clutched his stomach, having fell on his side, facing his friend. "Sasukeeee… you're so mean…"

The other grunted and stole the pillow back to hog it for himself, coldly leaving Naruto to rest his head on the mattress. They laid in silence for a few minutes, Naruto trying to fight his way into the sheets and Sasuke threatening to completely push him off of the bed.

"Seriously… where did that come from?" Sasuke asked.

"I dunno," Naruto twitched his shoulder in a shrug. "It just came to me."

"Right," Sasuke rested on his elbows again, peering at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, it's early," the blond defended himself. "How do you do that?"

"Raise my eyebrow? I just do it."

"Like…" Naruto flexed his brows, furrowing them together and trying his best to make either one go up. He lifted both of them up and tried to get one of them to go down, but alas, apparently it was something only Sasuke could do.

"Stop that," the other laughed and reached his hand out, falling back onto the pillow. He pressed his thumb into Naruto's left eyebrow, holding it in place for him. "Try it."

Naruto did his best but both of his eyebrows kept going up, even under Sasuke's finger. He laughed at how red the blond's face was turning with the effort and the frustrated expression that came on it once he dropped his hand.

"Stop laughing at me!" Naruto scowled. He liked it nonetheless, but his laugh was kind of creepy, especially muffled by the pillow and in near complete darkness.

Sasuke hummed and sat up, knocking the sheets off of himself and running a hand through his hair. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Gonna shower," Sasuke grumbled and swung his legs out of the bed, slowly standing up. He rubbed at his eyes before heading to his dresser and grabbing his jumpsuit from it.

Naruto tugged at the sheets, eyeing the other as he went about the room in search of his key. He guessed that, since he had nothing better to do, he'd shower as well. The blond tipped the chair back on its back legs and stretched, grunting deep in his throat as he flexed his numb leg. He stood. It was chilly in the room so he ran his hands over the warm spot Sasuke had left.

Sasuke turned the lights to their full brightness, both of them wincing as he turned it halfway down again. He swung the door open, minding that a few other people in his wing were still awake as Naruto slammed it shut behind them.

"Geez," Naruto mumbled as he crossed his arms behind his head and walked alongside Sasuke. "Wonder what they're doing. Will we be up that late once she trains us or something?"

"From what I understand, Suna actually has a provisional military organized here," Sasuke replied. "And from what she's told me, only the members of her intelligence platoon are given most of the strategy work."

"Hope I don't end up on that. What are they again, intelligence, speed, and power?"

"I think so," Sasuke said, tugging at the hem of his shirt.

He pushed the door open to the locker room, a weak trail of steam hitting them from a shower that had been taken at least a few hours ago. A man using the urinal ignored them. The dirty pile of towels that had been sitting in the corner were now gone, replaced by double the amount of clean on a shelf. Now that it had hit nighttime, the men that grew facial hair's razors were haphazardly stored on the long line of sinks parallel to the showers. Sasuke scrunched his nose at the sight of what he _hoped_ was old shaving cream on the ground.

"What d'ya think about that mission she's sending us off on… today?" Naruto wondered aloud, toeing his boots off.

"We'll be fine if we don't fuck up," he deadpanned.

The blond sighed and stepped into the shower, wrestling to get out of the jumpsuit. It was back to crabby morning Sasuke, and then it would be back to Sasuke around others, but for the look he had given Naruto the night before, he thought it was worth pulling through all of the other's mood swings.

Sasuke made his shower short, only taking a few moments to relish in the water running over his body. After he dried himself, he eyed the jumpsuit that eerily reminded him of Rock Lee. He'd feel odd wearing it for the first time, but since it seemed like the uniform in this camp… he guessed it would suffice for warmth. Karin had already informed Sasuke that it couldn't be pierced or scratched, doing her best to shove a knife through the material covering her arm and drag it along the scaled features. No torn hole or scratch formed. It was certainly ideal for the Sectors' military forces, and now, it was no less to Temari's militia. The woman was… definitely something else, evidently an efficient leader and master of manipulation. She persevered resources that weren't even her own and continued to work right under the Sectors' noses. It was remarkable.

Sasuke tugged the longer pieces of his hair out from the tight collar and combed a hand through it, squeezing out excess water. He absentmindedly wandered if Naruto had fallen asleep standing up (because the blond was certainly no stranger to it) and tossed his towel in a growing pile by the door. Steam filled the room and made Sasuke's hair stick to his face as well as the jumpsuit to uncomfortable areas on his body. He refused to sweat just moments after he bathed, so he cast Naruto's shower stall an indifferent glance and made his way to his own room.

Three thirty AM, the clock said in green, sitting so far back in his desk chair that his heels barely touched the ground if he tensed his thighs enough. Sasuke gently turned himself in the chair, glaring at his empty room as it slowly spun in front of him. He was hungry like he hadn't eaten in a day - and that reminded him, it had almost been a day. He'd see if he could get a bite or two in before Naruto came into the picture and practically inhaled any food in front of him.

He wondered what today's mission would bring them. It wasn't as if they hadn't scouted through thick woods before, and any more than the five mile radius they were assigned. Sasuke was sure that everyone in their group would be fine, save for the recovery time Konohamaru had been given. There was definitely just an ounce of unease in him because of the unknown territories around the building. Questions he had swirled inside of his head: On a ratio of two men to every mile, about how much Katons would be rolling through the woods? Were they close enough to a Sector to actually have scout teams searching through the forest? What were Temari's combat regulations, anyway?

"Sasukeeeeee," Naruto drawled from behind his room door, startling him out of his thoughts. The door handle jiggled.

Sasuke sighed, rising out of his seat and placing his hand on the handle. Every time he tried to push it down to open it, Naruto tugged it up and whined again. "Open the door, you asshole!"

"Let me open it, dumbass," he growled, yanking it open once Naruto stopped with his fussing.

The blond was pouting and leaning against the doorframe, sending Sasuke a miserable gaze. "I'm so hungry it hurts."

"Hn," he waited for the other to move out of the way, locking the door behind him. "We'll eat what we can find in the kitchen."

"Is it okay to do that?" Naruto wondered aloud, following Sasuke to the floor's elevator. Once again, not a soul was awake, and it was eerily silent and dark in the halls save for the red safety lights surrounding the elevator.

"Yes." Sasuke crossed his arms and yawned, pushing the go button on the ledge.

The blond scratched at the nape of his neck as he tried not to stare at Sasuke. The shadows the red light cast on his features reminded him of the times they had sat next to each other in front of campfires. The other's hair was still drying, but the back of it had already managed to rebel and spike out. Naruto could barely see Sasuke's lean figure in the dim light, but this was probably the only chance he'd get before Sasuke would catch him staring. The light offered no more to Naruto than the silhouette of his pale neck and strong shoulders.

It jerked to a stop and they stepped off. Naruto followed Sasuke's footsteps, assuming that he would already know where they were going. The blond could hear Sasuke's hand skimming the wall. His thoughts returned to their actions some fifteen hours earlier. Naruto hoped that he hadn't made the other uncomfortable by holding his hand… he truly wanted only comfort and peace to come to Sasuke. If Sasuke was anywhere near him, there would be absolutely no time left for him to brood or mourn over his family and losses. Naruto only wanted his friend to be happy and nothing less than that.

Sasuke pressed a hand into his shoulder and swung a door he couldn't see open. A bright light snapped on and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for his vision to accommodate the bright light. Naruto squinted and took his hand away from his eyes, observing the room in front of him. A kitchen. He hadn't seen one in so long and only the culinary magazines he'd bared a glance to while looting offered any kind of glimpse. Pots and pans hung off a rack attached to the ceiling and industrial-sized boxes of food were stacked in the corner. The long wooden island in the middle of a series of refrigerators had an onslaught of indents and slices in it.

Sasuke went about doing his own thing, and Naruto rummaged around in the fridge for anything that his stomach would jump at. He pushed aside wrapped meats and fruit. What was hiding behind them made his eyes widen and a sudden flash of memory enter his mind.

_Naruto was sitting at a marbled kitchen island, about six years old. One of his ratty sneakers resting on his stool while the other dangled, nowhere close to even touching the ground. When he came home from daycare, he had thrown his superhero backpack halfway across the room, much to his father's chagrin. Kushina had wrestled him on top of the stool, planting a loud kiss onto his cheek of which he strongly believed to have given him cooties. Naruto happily listened to his parent's banter as he patiently waited for his afternoon snack, drumming his small hands on the placemat Kushina had smoothed out for him. Minato patted him roughly on the back and told him to settle down, mumbling that he had known nap time for Naruto just meant trouble._

"_Alright, Naruto." Kushina hovered above him, setting a cup on the table. Naruto cheered as she peeled back the cover and poked a spoon inside the chocolate pudding, pushing it into his hands as he grabbed for it. Despite his father's warnings that he was going to get sick if he kept shoving spoonful after spoonful of pudding into his mouth, he did just so, smearing some on his face in the meantime. _

Naruto broke into a huge smile and pressed the pudding cup against his face, leaning against the refrigerator.

"Naruto, eat real food," Sasuke said over his shoulder, casting the other an unamused glance. He glared at the healthy looking sandwich Sasuke had made on the table.

"'S just a snack," he pouted, ripping open the cover and licking the chocolate off of it. Sasuke clucked his tongue and returned to spreading something on bread with a knife, shifting his weight.

The blond grinned and shut the fridge door, turning to look for a spoon. He screamed (in which he would argue later that it was _manly_) at the face of a ghost that appeared behind the door, staring at him with haunting and hollow eyes. Behind him, Sasuke jumped at the screech and dropped his knife, clattering to the floor loudly. Naruto had dropped the pudding by his feet.

"Why the scream?" Sai asked, an odd expression washing over his face.

"What the fuck!" Naruto clasped at his chest and stared at him. "Sai… what the fuck!"

Sasuke glared at the other pale boy, bending over to pick up his spoon. He didn't even want to bother with Sai at three in the morning.

"I was waiting for you to exit the refrigerator."

"Do you always stare at the fridge with a weird look on your face?"

Sai hummed, unamused. "Like I said, I was waiting."

Naruto sighed and turned to his friend. "Sasuke, you didn't see him come in?"

The other angrily slapped a piece of bread on top of his completed sandwich. "I think I would have said something if I saw him."

_Alright, so it's about the time that Sasuke gets all crabby,_ Naruto noted. He glanced at Sai again and moved out of the way for him, stepping over his beloved chocolate pudding. He pouted at the splattered mess on the floor.

"Sai, what are you doing up?" he asked, peeking over the door of the fridge.

"I am supposed to run a few errands for the Sergeant," he replied, standing and offering Naruto a creepy smile.

The blond sighed. No matter how much Sai pissed him off, creeped him and others out, poked into his business, insulted him and stalked him, he wasn't a bad guy. Maybe his social skills were a few (or a thousand) notes off tune, but Naruto knew the other couldn't help it. It was just the way Sai was.

So Naruto returned the smile with a weak grin, trying to keep a wince out of it. "You are? Like what?"

Sai chewed on a strawberry and blankly stared at him. "Sorry, but it's confidential, dickless."

The knife clattered again, but this time Sasuke had just tossed it inside of the steel sink. He leant against the counter and bit into his turkey sandwich, intently watching Naruto and Sai's exchange. He grunted and pushed off of the counter once he saw the puddle of chocolate pudding at their feet, glancing around for a roll of paper towels.

"You know," Naruto crossed his arms. Was he doing this on purpose? Maybe Sai wasn't as nice of a guy as he had previously thought. So much for accepting everyone the way they were. "Maybe if you stopped calling me 'dickless', I wouldn't fight with you all the time."

"Like you fought Neji?" Sai tossed a piece of lettuce off to the side, rubbing his fingers together.

He paused, a lull forming in their, uh, conversation. Naruto wasn't sure if Sai had just made a joke or insulted him.

Sasuke sighed and stood from his crouch, having found a roll of paper towels in the cabinets that lined the walls. He held it up in his arm, shaking it so that it would catch Naruto's attention. Once the blond looked up, he tossed it to him, following the path and ambling back to the other two.

Naruto caught the roll of papers and frowned deeply at Sai, unravelling a thick wad to clean the mess at their feet. Only the tearing of the paper interrupted their clean silence and he dropped the pile of towels he had made, pushing it around with his foot.

"That's awful, Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, approaching and staring at the bigger mess the other had made. "You're just…"

"It must be horrible, Sasuke," Sai said pleasantly.

The Uchiha paused and examined the other cautiously. If this was going to be a penis comment, Sasuke swore to Kami that he would make sure to shoot Sai on their mission later on in the day. "W-"

"I would know," Sai interrupted again, an odd look washing over his face. It was both knowing and pitiful. "I had a brother, too. He was sick just like yours-"

It all happened to fast for Sasuke to even react. One moment, Naruto had been looking down at the toppled cup of pudding in longing, and the next, his back was turned and his forearm was pressed into Sai's neck, pinning him into the refrigerator.

"What the fuck makes you think you can say that!" Naruto spat, right in Sai's face. He could feel the heat radiating from the other's body and the hard swallow Sai gave under his arm, his Adam's apple bobbing under his wrist. The other's chin was tilted slightly back in a position that looked superior but was only the product of his attack.

Sai smiled, a tense smile stretching his lips as he gazed at Naruto. "And what makes you think you're the little brother's keeper?"

That was it, he thought. It didn't take much provocation. He raised his arm back, balling his fist. Sai was lucky that this was Naruto's weak arm, his dominant one digging into his throat again. Sai made something similar to a choking sound, but he could care less.

He felt a calm, fleeting touch on his back before Sasuke cupped the hand he had raised and grabbed a handful of the suit on his chest. Sasuke shoved him backwards, his hip crashing into the island behind them and making the pots and pans above their heads clash against each other. One of them fell _loudly_ and trembled on the tile floor.

"Stop it," Sasuke growled, and whether it was directed towards him or Sai, Naruto couldn't tell. The other had his hand planted in the middle of Sai's chest, holding him back should he try to swing at the blond.

Naruto swallowed roughly, casting Sai an unsympathetic look and leaning off of the counter. Now, as he looked at the other with red strip in the middle of his neck, he couldn't help but feel like the biggest dumbass to walk these lands. Just a couple of days after Sasuke had been strangled raw and just within a few seconds of death, Naruto had to go and pull the same thing to the one person that angered him. Never even mind that Sasuke hadn't noticed; he was smart enough to. It was just too low of a blow…

Sasuke tentatively leaned off of Sai's chest, carefully studying him for a few moments before turning back to Naruto. "W-"

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Naruto slumped his shoulders, recognizing the voice that bounced off of the walls in the kitchen. Of course. Of course one of his parental figures always had the perfect timing.

"I asked a question," Tsunade snapped, approaching them and grabbing Sasuke by the collar to pull him away from Sai.

"Nothing much," Sai replied. The air around them thickened even further and Naruto's eyes flew to the ground.

He didn't know what had come over him and he couldn't bear to look Sasuke in the eyes right now. The other probably thought Naruto thought of him as _weak,_ unable to stand up for himself and take care of his own messes, excusing the splattered chocolate Tsunade was currently standing in. Naruto's lack of self control added to Sasuke's arguably low opinion of him now, he thought, biting at the inside of his cheek.

"Shit…" Tsunade clucked her tongue and wiped the bottom of her shoe on the pile of paper towels.

The three of them stood awkwardly now, an odd triangle of stares forming amongst them. Sai stared at Tsunade staring at Sasuke, who stared at Naruto staring at the ground. It made the older woman's patience thin more than it should have.

"Fine. Sai, go gear up. Mission starts in fifteen minutes and Sergeant wants an evaluation from you. And you…" Tsunade reached over to pinch Naruto's left ear, dragging him closer to herself. He whimpered. "Come with me. Go back to sleep, Uchiha, and we'll have a talk at lunch."

And, once again, before Sasuke could process it, Naruto had been dragged out of the kitchen by the ear and he was left standing alone with a streaky mess of chocolate at his feet.

* * *

><p>Hours later, after Sasuke's appetite hadn't made itself known enough to attend breakfast with Karin, he sat at their packed lunch table squeezed between two bodies but feeling lonelier than ever.<p>

Naruto hadn't turned up to a meal yet again, as well as Sai. He hadn't been at breakfast, either, though Sasuke had assumed the adults had held him back from it. He'd overheard snippets of conversation as he meandered through the halls at odd hours again, a conversation between Jiraiya and Kakashi arousing his interest.

"_He's been acting out lately. Again. He used to do this all the time when he was around twelve, right when he hit puberty."_

"_Are you saying he's hit puberty again?" Sasuke could picture Kakashi's eyes crinkling in a pleasant and light-hearted smile. _

_Jiraiya grunted. "I know he did that for attention, though I'm not sure what he's picking fights for this time. I'll talk to Sergeant about his placements… and the mission she's sending them on later today. Maybe she'll rethink putting him in-"_

"_Mah, this is like holding him back a grade. The poor kid's probably, ah, stressed out. What else can I say - new environment, less friends, more technology. Everyone's a bit moody, Jiraiya. Give the boy a chance."_

But why Jiraiya _wouldn__'__t_ give Naruto a chance baffled Sasuke. He didn't see it as that Naruto was acting out and picking fights, but rather that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had both been in forms of defense for another. Naruto had done nothing to be penalized for, just serving unofficial justice for his friends.

And that was the fault in Naruto, he thought as he pushed a greasy piece of beef around on his plate. Karin elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to make him cough. She didn't apologize. Naruto was just too… he tensed his lips. There was no word for someone as big-hearted and empathetic as Naruto. He had never seen someone look so _crushed _like Naruto had the moment after Tsunade had interrupted them. Whatever had been running through Naruto's head right then and there, to make him look so disappointed in himself… Sasuke would have to crush those thoughts, as well. Though he didn't think Naruto had the right to be angrier than Sasuke about his own brother, he was thankful the other had even thought to stand up for him.

But his thoughts wandered to Sai. How had he gotten into the militia ranks so early…? The same regards to Tsunade. It was odd, seeing how Sai was apparently just a citizen in Five.

Naruto's friends had asked him of the blond's whereabouts. Sakura had insisted that Sasuke knew and was keeping it from them because he was probably already working closely with the Sergeant. He had simply batted down the flames of her accusation and grunted. Shikamaru had asked him with a lazy, questioning gaze, to which Sasuke shrugged and he nodded once in acknowledgment. Once Sakura had voiced her confusion, the table started up again, pestering him with questions he couldn't possibly know the answer to. Something told him that he shouldn't say anything about this morning, and he wouldn't. He'd rather not have Tsunade tugging at his ear, after all.

The rest of lunch and a couple of hours after it remained a blur. Sasuke and Juugo sat in the lounge together in silent and stony companionship, a stark contrast towards the robust group across from them. Kiba wrestled with Konohamaru gently and kindheartedly, pulling him in for a nuzzle and wishing for the other to heal quickly so they could, quote, "kick some Sector ass". Sasuke wasn't very amused by the saying, but Suigetsu and Chouji had seemed to find it hilarious. Naruto would have made a better joke, he blandly thought.

It wasn't too long after that in which they were called by the "rookies" to report to GU (in which Sasuke decided as gear up) over the intercom above their heads. Something like an apprehensive silence filled the room before they all looked to each other and filed out into the lobby, wondering where GU was.

It was evident enough where it was, if Temari and her cronies standing in front of the same steel door with a hand scanner attached to it gave it away. Though only a portion of their group came from the lounge, others slowly descended from the elevator, probably in their rooms or wandering around. He kept his eyes open for Naruto, though trying not to attract too much attention to himself as he glanced back.

A bit of adrenaline surged in Sasuke's veins as he realized that he'd be able to go outside again. A fluorescent light above their heads flickered once. This, what he had been placed in when he was six… the Academy had prepared him for this, and this is what he was meant to do. No matter where Sasuke went or who he ended up with, he was meant to protect his people from the very beginning. Now, his people weren't just Kakashi, his brother Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo. His people were a larger group of foolish and capable teens that he'd work together with to protect this community of survivors.

Bested only by Sai and Shikamaru, he was third to line up as Temari had ordered. Or, rather, Sergeant Suna as he should address her. She pressed her palm against the scanner and the metal door slid open, shifting against the floor.

"You'll get a custom size if you come back alive," she bartered, crossing her arms behind her back and leading her new recruits into the weapons room. "This is GU. Short for gear up. And what you do in GU… is gear up."

Nobody laughed, though someone flinched so hard it nearly startled Sasuke when Temari rolled her eyes. "Rookies. We'll get you settled in."

"Mission objective? Scout a five mile radius for Katons or Sector aliens. Your mission advisor will be Kankuro, who will watch over you ugly ducklings if you fuck up."

Sasuke glanced away, at the hooks lining the studded wall and the olive colored flak jackets hanging off of them. It smelled of gunpowder and wet metal, originating from the sleek black guns hanging on the wall the farthest from them. There were shelves and shelves of various weapons, anything from high class guns to tactical knives and their ranging bullets. A certain collection of katana and chokuto caught his interest, appearing well taken care of and traditional. Next to them lay coin-sized grenades, those of which he'd had the disgrace of setting off a couple of years ago; they were nothing to be messed with, and evidently, Temari was not a woman to be messed with.

"-and they're never to be turned off. If someone even so little as screams, you tap in to track them and run for help. Remember that I'll be tracking you as well, and if the wires are cut off by something or someone, do your best to carry them with you. If you lay incapacitated-"

"What does that mean?" Kiba whispered to him.

Sasuke ignored him.

"-the green button is for help. Got it?"

Silence reigned over them again and he sighed. "Yes ma'am."

Temari tilted her head at him appreciatively. "That's good to hear. Now, the guns work as any traditional firing guns do, but remember that-"

Sasuke drowned her out yet again. He knew that if Naruto was by his side, he'd have absorbed some of the other's energy and have hosted a longer attention span. Nothing in here seemed too complicated, anyway. Kiba made a jab at him for being a kiss up and Sasuke ignored him once more.

This time, when Temari asked if they understood, a louder chorus of "Yes ma'am's" chimed back at her. She snorted and stepped back.

"Alright, runts. Gear up."

Sasuke was genuinely tired of the panic that set into their group when they didn't have an adult to take charge over them. He and, aggravatingly, Sai were the first to move towards the flak jackets, shrugging into the open sleeves. Of course, it weighed more than a few pounds, and it was going to slow Sasuke down if he sprinted. The many pockets it had held sterilized weapons and extra bullets. He pressed the earpiece hanging from the collar into his ear, fixing the loop behind the shell of his ear and tapping on it gently. It turned on and he immediately heard the soft conversations the others were holding, regrettably something about Suigetsu's balls itching.

He filed behind the others to grab a gun and weighed it in his hands. It was no more than three pounds, deadly and new in his palms. It was exciting to hold a stolen Sector weapon.

Tsunade lead them back out of the weapons room and turned the corner to the same hallway that they had first entered the Center from. Orange warning lights were set on the railing of the elevator they had first used to enter the building from.

"Make me proud, my men," Temari announced, though she looked pointedly at Sasuke. "Come back alive, yeah?"

They sent the girls up first, assuming they weighed barely over a hundred pounds. After that came the lankier guys like Lee and Shino and Sai. He was sent on next with Shikamaru and Kiba, their boots making the metal ledge shutter loudly. Sasuke watched the faces of the rest of his group, save Naruto, become smaller as they went higher and higher. He broke the gaze to look up and plant both of his hands against the ground opening with Shikamaru and Kiba, working together to push it open and agilely (clumsily) pulling themselves outside.

Sasuke breathed in fresh air as he dug his elbows into the soft grass and hoisted himself out after Kiba. They both helped Shikamaru out, more like dragging the lazy boy out and dumping him on the ground.

He quickly turned around and took a deep breath, so thankful to finally have plush grass under his feet again and a pale gray sky above his head. It had fortunately stopped snowing and heated up to a temperature that required a light jacket but didn't cause uncontrollable shivers. There was a light mist showering over their heads.

Sasuke quickly noticed that the girls had already broken off into groups of two and dove into the woods surrounding the Center exit. He cursed quietly and turned back to Shikamaru and Kiba…

That was as far as he got before deciding that he'd rather work alone. Sasuke quickly jogged away from them and into the woods, observing the scarce foliage and track prints of Katons. So they did this regularly… there must have been a high amount of Katons rolling around. He was fine with that. He hadn't dealt with one in a long time.

Sasuke tried to drown out the chatter that filled his left ear. Something Tenten had growled when she caught a Katon had slightly disturbed him. Most of their group travelled in pairs, their light conversation barely heard. If he worked best with Naruto and the other wasn't around, the close runner up was working alone.

Their chatter drowned out and static filled his ear. "_You sure you wanna move out alone, Uchiha?_"

Sasuke checked behind himself again. "I'm sure."

Temari chuckled in his ear and the channel was returned to that of his group.

The teen sighed. Great. He was alone and the chatter in his ear kept fooling him into thinking it was someone like Kimimaro right behind him. His own footsteps sounded like a Katon moving through a bush and the clinks of the buckles on his flak jacket imitated the cocking of an official's gun.

Static broke out over his radio again before evolving into a screech. He winced and loosened the thing from his ear, an argument distantly audible from it. Temari and… someone else. Sasuke wouldn't get his hopes up, but he thought it was Naruto for a split second.

He grabbed onto a branch and climbed about five feet up a tree, hanging onto it with one arm as he scrutinized the area around him. It seemed pretty clear, though there were a few small tire tracks and pokes in the ground here and there, and the familiar prints of their issued boots in the sand.

Sasuke squinted at a patch of odd, probably poisonous flowers near the base of a tree. They really had travelled a long way - he'd never seen those before.

A soft click came from a blind spot below him. Sasuke'd recognize that sound anywhere. Finally, he thought, dropping from the tree and landing with a soft _thud_.

Sometimes, he'd like to hear what the Katons had to say. It turned to him, buzzing lightly as it sent a thin ray of blue light over his eyes. Its spidery legs poked holes into the sandy ground when it rotated to him.

"_Sasuke Uchiha, Sector One, Code seven evict: reporting loca-__"_

He shot it before it could finish. The gun was cold and light in his arms, with barely any recoil and an immediate fire time. Best of all, it was quiet, the bullet releasing from the chamber with a sound nothing louder than a clap. It was nothing short of amazing. Sasuke approached the fallen form of the Katon and pulled it up, unscrewing the artificial head off of it and tossing the cap to the side. He pulled a few wires out, effectively disabling it and deleting the information it had sent its home Sector. He stood and wiped his hands together, kicking it back to the side.

"Geez, how come you never taught me how to do that?"

Sasuke jumped, whirling around to find Naruto directly behind him and looking pretty disheveled. He already had a few leaves in that bush of hair and what looked like a bruise on his cheek that was suspiciously shaped like a hand.

"Are you supposed to be here?" He asked before he could stop himself. Sure, he was glad Naruto had finally come out of the shadows, but… something didn't feel too right.

"Maybe not," Naruto supplied and tapped at his radio. "But am I _allowed_? Yeah."

Sasuke frowned and faced him completely. "Where have you been? You weren't at-"

"I know, I know, everyone missed me," Naruto set both of his hands over his heart. "But Tsunade put me in time out." He grimaced.

"About earlier-" they both started at the same time, startling each other to a stop.

"You first," Sasuke said, breathing deeply. It was faintly… awkward, and awkward wasn't something that worked well between the two of them.

Naruto put one of his hands behind his back, his eyes flickering to the ground for a moment before he looked back at Sasuke. He was really tempted to rub his neck or pull at his ear, the intensity of Sasuke's gaze on him a little more than unnerving.

"Ah, well…" he trailed off, mentally calling himself a coward for dancing around the subject so much already. "Sorry about earlier. Uh, for going at Sai like that-"

"Why should it matter to me how you attack Sai?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow, half teasing. It only made the blond that much more flustered.

"I guess it just seemed like I thought you couldn't handle your own business. I know now that it's not my place to be so angry for you. Sorry for butting in…"

He sighed calmly and let his stare soften by a few degrees. "I know, Naruto. I appreciate that you stood up for me, and you being angry is fine, too." Earlier, Sasuke had actually been a bit pissed off that Naruto had thought it would be okay to treat Itachi leaving like it had happened to himself. But that was directly after it had gone down and he had just a few ounces of testosterone and adrenaline flooding his veins. Naruto was just too empathetic and caring for his own good. "It's all fine."

Naruto glanced up at him, a wary expression on his face. "You're not mad?"

"Of course I'm not."

The other mashed his lips together before letting a small grin break onto his face. "Okay!"

That had been a lot easier than Naruto had expected it to go! He'd thought that Sasuke would've been angry, upset, grieving… he wished that he had put a bit more passion into his apology, but Sasuke looked like he didn't really give a shit in the first place. He'd thought Sasuke would call him stupid or curse him out for not letting him handle his own problems, but he'd said it was okay… he wanted to hug Sasuke. But he figured they couldn't hug after every little tiny thing that happened between them, so he refrained. Kami, he was so relieved that Sasuke wasn't angry!

Sasuke couldn't help but let a small smile ease over his lips, too. He stepped over the disabled Katon and headed deeper into the woods, counting on Naruto to follow him.

They worked easily together, covering each other's blind spots and taking turns to glance behind them for ambushes. Both of their senses in the woods were heightened, especially after being hunted down by military officials. The cool mist felt nice on his cheeks, especially since the flak jacket seemed to hold a lot of body heat inside of it. Sometimes, other pairs would radio in their shot counts or their coordinates, and sometimes Suigetsu would make a fart joke that would get an unfortunately high amount of snickers. It also earned a few insults and scolds from Karin who was most likely miles away, and also a few questions once someone recognized Naruto's voice.

The radios were both a gift and a curse, Sasuke thought. They weren't exactly mature enough to handle these. It was distracting, but should any one of them get injured or so, they could easily track each other or call in for help. Conversations still filled his ear and he was far past the point of livid.

It all went silent once Shino told them to be quiet.

"Since when was he here?" Naruto whispered.

Sasuke cast him an irritated glance. "He always has been."

"_Foreign footprints at sixty four W thirty one E fourteen N and hundred-two S. Light steps, most likely male. They look new.__"_ It was Shikamaru.

Sasuke glanced down at the compass dangling from the bottom of the jacket. That was opposite of them.

"_We__'__ll keep an eye out a half mile away from you,_" Sai replied.

Naruto calmly shot a gang of three robots. Sasuke showed him which cords to pull out - the one that saved information, the one that sent information, and the transmitter inside that was used to track the Katon. Itachi had left him in good knowledge.

"_Oi!" _Karin yelled, her voice crackling as she ran and the headset bounced in her ear and against her hair. _"We have a scout. He's fast! Moving west, can't catch him at-"_ she called out her coordinates.

"_Fuck yeah!" _Sakura bellowed.

"That's about a mile away," Naruto noted. "He's moving towards us!"

Sasuke glanced back down at his compass again, and then around them. "You're right. We should move to the trees."

* * *

><p>"We shouldn't have moved to the trees," Naruto wheezed, bent over a branch and clutching at his crotch.<p>

"I told you to swing your leg up slowly," Sasuke deadpanned beside him, leaning against the trunk. He was all too sympathetic for the other to even snicker a bit. "If you fall, it's only a seven foot drop. I think you'll live."

"Think?" Naruto screeched, his eyes watery.

"Most likely."

The other groaned. "Is this guy running through here or not? He's not worth killing my balls for."

"You did that on your own," Sasuke said disapprovingly.

Naruto harrumphed and swung his legs a bit, making a few leaves drop to the ground and their branch sway dramatically.

"Stop."

Naruto did, sighing and resting his gun in his lap. "How long have we been out here, anyway?"

"I didn't keep tr-"

"_Two hours." _

"Uh… thanks, Shino," Naruto said, reminded that they weren't exactly alone. Great! Now the girls heard everything about his balls.

Sasuke snickered and reached his hand over, tapping on the bud in his ear. He used his other hand to turn his own off. "There."

"Aren't we supposed to have these on?"

"Yes."

Naruto cast him a wary look. "Are you sure? What if we-"

"We'll be fine," Sasuke's eyes held a certain degree of playfulness.

The blond scratched the back of his neck. "Well, okay. But if we do get all messed up, it's your fault. For once."

"Hn."

They finally sat in silence, carefully watching the ground below their feet. Sasuke would occasionally tune in for the sights of the scout, but everyone else seemed focused on their own areas. Karin had yet to say anything about seeing him again. Maybe he had run to the outskirts or back to his Sector to report survivors in the woods…?

Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed, as well as his patience. Had the scout escaped? Damn… their whereabouts would be given away… he knew it wasn't Karin's fault, but Sasuke still wished she'd used her strong aim to at least slow the man down.

"Should we track him?" Naruto asked, shifting on the branch.

"I don't see why not," Sasuke replied, throwing his gun strap over his shoulder. "We'd better hurry. He's most likely running back to whatever Sector he's from."

"Fuck that," the blond grunted, crouching on the branch. He placed his hands by his feet before pushing off of it, rustling the whole tree and hanging from it by his hands. There was about a two foot drop below Naruto, so according to Sasuke, he'd _most likely_ live. Huh, whatever. He let go of the branch and had kind of a clumsy landing, but at least he didn't fall on his face.

Sasuke landed lightly and gracefully a few feet away from him, brushing his hands of dirt and tiny pieces of bark. He glanced around them, then back down at the compass on his vest. They really did stand a chance if they pursued the scout…

"Let's separate," Naruto suggested. "I'll take west, you take-"

"No," the teen interrupted. "You and I both know the horrors of separating. We'll move a mile out, and if we don't find him, then we retreat."

Naruto paused, obviously weighing their luck at the moment. He shrugged with one shoulder. "Fine, I guess. We'll find him faster if we separate, but okay."

He sent Naruto a look that was tied between dismissive and upset. Sasuke would have thought the other had learned his lesson about traveling alone… then again, when did Naruto ever learn?

Fifteen minutes later, they had a lead. Sasuke didn't know whether the footsteps they were chasing after were that of a human or an animal - but judging by the vegetation around this area, it was a slim chance that the footsteps belonged to a deer or moose. He'd known that they had been watched; he'd felt the itch along his spine and the raw knowledge of being stalked, and when he'd voiced it, a bush not even five feet away from them rustled and the goose chase had started.

"Chasing what might be the scout," Sasuke called into his radio, earning a few cheers from their group.

"Let me ambush him from the left," Naruto grunted, his gun slapping loudly against his hip.

"How many times do I have to say no!" He shouted back. The scout didn't seem to be slowing down any time soon, and he seriously considered shedding his flak jacket.

"Damn it!" the other yelled.

He sprinted directly behind Sasuke, struggling to peek over his shoulder at the person they were chasing. Sasuke's earlier doubts of the figure even being a human were distinguished; he'd recognize a military uniform anywhere. The man tripped on something and turned around to glance at them, his eyes full of fear. His hand clutched and pulled out the revolver at his hip, holding it up-

"Sasuke," the blond panted. "Wait - let him go-"

The man turned around, jogging to the side and remaining a few feet away from them. What Sasuke's goal was, Naruto wasn't sure, whether it be tackling the man and taking him hostage or shooting him from a distance - which he should have already done the moment he saw the man's face.

He screamed something in a language Naruto had never heard before. It was throaty… he spit heavily as he yelled at them, his hands trembling as he pointed the gun at them.

"Hey-" Sasuke pushed him to the side, away from the man's aim. He crouched and aimed his own weapon at the other, cursing Naruto in his mind to just _stay out of the damn way_.

"Sasuke, stop! He's-"

The man's eyes filled with terror again. He was sweating profusely, trembling greatly, panting loudly. He yelled something in that foreign language again. Naruto witnessed with haunted eyes as he glanced between he and Sasuke again and turned his revolver to his own temple, pulling the trigger.

Naruto's hands flew to his mouth as the man's body fell to the ground.

_Just a fucking kid._

His body moved on its own. He ran to the boy's body and fell to his knees, skirting on the ground and planting his hands on his chest. Naruto's whole body trembled as he looked into the face of the boy.

"H-he's-" he pressed his hands on top of each other, pushing down rapidly as Sakura had taught him to do so many years ago. Fruitless, he turned back to Sasuke, who hadn't moved from his spot a few feet away. "Sasuke, he's our age! He's-" he grabbed for the ID card hanging on the shoulder of his uniform. _Koaru. _"He's younger than us! He's Konohamaru's age!"

Sasuke swallowed roughly, staring with wide eyes as the color drained from Naruto's face. Nothing like that had ever happened. He'd never seen someone do that… never seen someone's own gun lie so close to their head and the dark puddle of blood leaking out of it.

"I can't believe…" Naruto pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, his face screwing up into something that pained Sasuke himself. Devastation.

He stepped closer to them, though he remained standing as opposed to Naruto kneeling over the boy's corpse. His hand shook on the material of his uniform, wrinkling it over a bulletproof vest inside.

The blond finally lowered his hand from his mouth and placed it over the boy's chest, hanging his head. A moment of silence reigned over them, though Sasuke didn't understand the reason why. He waited for Naruto to collect himself.

"I can't do this anymore," Naruto said resolutely, in a deeper baritone than Sasuke was used to. Actually, he wasn't used to Naruto even saying something like that.

He frowned. "What do y-"

"I mean exactly what I said," the blond didn't turn to him and brought his hand over his shoulder, tossing his gun to the side and ripping out his earpiece. Naruto punched it off and begun unhooking all of the fastens on his jacket.

"What the hell?" Sasuke ignored the peaking questions coming in from his radio and turned it off as well, pulling it out of his ear so that he could finally hear everything.

"I don't want to do things like this," Naruto said thickly, casting the other an empty glance over his shoulder. He shrugged out of his flak jacket. "And I'm obviously not meant to do things like this. So I'm leaving."

He frowned at the other boy's dramatics and glared at him. "You can't _leave_, dumbass. Just get up and we'll-"

"Walking away won't fix this!" Naruto yelled, red in the face. "It won't bring him back! What kind of place is this, that a kid is so scared of us that he'll-"

"Running away won't fix it either!" Sasuke shouted back, balling his fists by his side. He resisted stomping in anger, instead choosing to grunt and long for someone to punch. Namely Naruto. "You can't l-"

"I will," the other said. Sasuke opened his mouth. Naruto hadn't yelled. He'd used a voice that was too small to fit someone with as big of a personality as his. Suddenly…

The glare melted off his face and he simply stared at Naruto's back. Sasuke was so _stupid_. He was blind. He was stupid, blind, and selfish. Looking at Naruto now, with his head hanging and his shoulders slumped and his feet tucked underneath him made him look like a small child hiding from a bully. Scared didn't fit someone like Naruto… but impacted did. Impacted by everyone and everything did fit him.

He always took to violence, didn't he? Why hadn't he seen it before? That when it came to Naruto, he was both selfish and selfless. He'd wanted his friendship to him and him alone, but Naruto's happiness… Sasuke reminded himself to breathe. He'd never known himself as a selfless person. Just sensitive. It was yet another thing on the ongoing list Naruto had managed to change about him without his permission. _What are you doing to me?_

"What the hell are you saying…" he murmured, catching the subdued attention of Naruto. "Why don't you listen to yourself for once? You're the one that's always telling everyone else to keep on fighting, and that they're not alone. Is this the true great Naruto?"

It only appeared to anger the other more. "You don't understand. I can't… live a life like this. Where we're suddenly the bad guys. For so long I thought that the Sector military were the bad guys, but really, how different are we-"

Sasuke was reminded of the first kill Naruto had taken, back at Tsunade's camp. It seemed so long ago. "You still believe that?" He asked, but it was drowned out by the increasing volume of Naruto's rambling.

"Are we the hunted or the hunting?" He yelled, pulling at the grass beneath their feet. "Tell me! Are we disgusting or more disgusting? What the hell-"

Sasuke fell to his knees beside Naruto, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him roughly. "Naruto, listen to me-"

"-are we going to live? There's no _justice _here! This is all murder! Don't you know how much of a life he had to live? What are his parents going to say? What if he's an only child, and what if he has a girlfriend or a best friend or-"

"Naruto!" He shouted, grabbing his other shoulder and jolting him roughly. He had finally caught his attention. The blond finally went quiet, mashing his lips together and staring at Sasuke. There was nothing less than raw suffering in his eyes.

"I love you," Sasuke's voice trembled slightly and he swallowed roughly. Kneeling there with Naruto in the thick shading of trees and bushes, he felt more vulnerable than ever. It felt as if he had laid his heart bare on a table in front of Naruto and said _Here you go, have fun with it! _His fingers trembled on Naruto's shoulders, something that he'd hope the other wouldn't notice. Kami, he knew that he was reading Sasuke like an open book right now, taking advantage of the unguarded look in his eyes. Sasuke _swore _that it was Naruto's own hand that squeezed his heart when the other's eyes watered.

Now, Sasuke wasn't exactly the most romantic type of person, but he supposed that he could have done better than laying his feelings bare right next to a stiffening body. But Naruto could have done the same as well - after all, who in the name of hell kissed the person they loved right over a corpse-

Sasuke's eyes widened, his hands hovering over the place Naruto's shoulders used to be. Naruto's eyes were closed just an inch away from his own, his lips slightly chapped against his own. It took him another moment to process what was happening before he realized that the blond was _waiting _for him. So he slowly closed his eyes, bringing his hands to Naruto's shoulders again, squeezing them softly. Sasuke tentatively pressed his lips back against Naruto's warm ones, his nose brushing against the other's cheek. It was chaste. It was chaste and it was unforgettable, Sasuke thought.

Naruto broke the kiss and set both of his palms on Sasuke's cheeks, bringing their foreheads together. He felt something wet hit his cheeks, and Naruto had shut his eyes - a few tears had escaped and the other let out a shaky breath.

"Thank you," he breathed, his lower lip wobbling as he stared into Sasuke's eyes. "Thank you!"

Naruto gathered him in a bone-crushing hug and debatably tried to squeeze the life out of Sasuke. His shoulders shook and Sasuke winced, awkwardly moving his arms to place them on Naruto's back. "Why are you crying, idiot?" It had come out warmer than Sasuke had meant it to, but sounded how he truly felt. Now he wondered what he had been so scared of as warmth flooded his chest, whether it be from the kiss or Naruto's arms.

He didn't reply, trying to cover up his sobs with grunts and hisses. Sasuke patiently waited for Naruto to calm down, progressively caressing moving over each protruding bone in Naruto's spine with his thumb. A few more minutes passed, and he had moved on to rubbing semi-circles over his back, comfortably shifting his chin on Naruto's shoulder.

The blond moved on to hiccuping. He gave Sasuke yet another deathly squeeze and moved his hand to wipe at his face, feeling swollen from all the salty tears and making a disgusted face at his snot. Naruto sighed when the other returned to rubbing each of the bones in his spine, his other hand rubbing slowly up and down his shoulder. He coughed and hiccuped in a painful rhythm.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, his hands pausing in their nonsensical patterns.

Naruto took a few moments to ensure that his voice wouldn't crack. "Yes," he said softly, loosening his arms from around Sasuke. He tried pulling away from him, but once their arms brushed against each other and the warmth left his shoulder, he pulled Sasuke in for another (weaker) hug.

Sasuke squeezed him once. "I need to call his death."

Naruto sighed. "Okay," he let the other go.

Sasuke gazed at him and tucked his earpiece back in, tapping it on and dragging Naruto's flak jacket towards him. "We have the scout dead." He used the compass on the flak jacket to call out their exact coordinates.

"_Both of you are okay?"_ Juugo asked, speaking over a few curious voices as to why they had been gone for long.

He glanced at the blond, who was wiping at his face roughly. "Yes. We'll head back soon."

"_Uchiha," _Temari buzzed in, her voice louder than the others. _"Next time, bring him back alive. My bad for sending you all out there with just guns."_

He answered a few of the questions she had before turning it back off and glancing at Naruto. "Are you ready to head back?"

"Yeah," he replied, voice a bit rough. Sasuke helped him get back into his flak jacket, allowing the other to peck him loudly on the lips.

Sasuke let a small smile slip on his face, holding the ankle of the boy behind them, Naruto holding the other as they dragged him. "Let's go back home."

* * *

><p>AN: So it finaaallllllyyyy happened. Writing this brought back so many memories… heh. Sorry for kind of disappearing, nasty case of writer's block. And sorry for taking 21 chapters and a prologue? Not sure how long it'll take me to get the next chapter up. But I absolutely love this chapter, what about you? I hope y'all like how this went down. I wanted to write the same desperation and passion that they have for each other in canon. So much angst. Okay, til next time.


	23. Skinny Reputations

Chapter 22: Skinny Reputations

* * *

><p>They returned to the Center safely, clapped on the back by their group mates as they dragged the limp body of the military man… boy… behind them. The blood leaking from his head had clotted a long time ago, something Sasuke had noticed when the thin trail of crimson had ended behind them.<p>

Karin had told him, from a lack of better words, that she would have to beat him up for doing so well. Sasuke wasn't looking very forward to it, considering that she had knocked Suigetsu out clean more than a handful of times with a single punch. Karin had a tendency to invest too much pride and trust in him; believe Sasuke, he was thankful for that, but sometimes the girl just didn't understand how to express her emotions correctly. Sasuke thought that was why they were close friends growing up, linked together by a common trait.

He and Naruto geared down side by side, and Sasuke wondered what the future would bring them. He knew that he would be hearing from Temari about their disappearance on her tracker, but he had already planned to blow it off as a mistake for his lack of familiarity with technology.

Kakashi smiled at the both of them proudly as Sasuke sat down at their infamous lunch table, waiting for someone else to bring their dinner. Sasuke made a great effort to fluidly slide himself onto the bench rather than crumple into it. The muscles in his legs quivered with both physical and emotional exhaustion, chasing after both a young man and Naruto's sanity. The other fixed a gaze on him throughout the whole meal, though Sasuke realized it was nothing new, and nobody else seemed to notice as well. He knocked his calf against Sasuke's more than once, to which he'd try to kick away in a silent message to stop bothering him, but Naruto interpreted it as an invitation and tangled Sasuke's left leg with his right.

Ino showered Naruto with questions as to what his dramatic announcement had to do with, but the blond excused it as carrying the body. "It smelled," Naruto insisted, hoping that she would back down. Temari, Sakura, and Karin had the mind to leave him be, though it didn't leave them any less curious.

Temari announced that they would enter training tomorrow. Sasuke realized that this was an independent militia, each man for himself, except should they be the captain of their respective squad. It was his responsibility to set his own alarm, make sure he showed up for training, filed to GU for future missions…

Naruto pushed him slightly, snapping him out of his thoughts and realizing that he had been staring blankly at his plate. He and Suigetsu laughed raucously about something Kiba had said, the brunet banging on the table loudly and irritating Sakura. She broke off her conversation with Tenten and Ino to tell him to knock it the fuck off, pushing Kiba further away from her and growling something about personal space. Karin observed them all beside him, scowling as she pushed her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose.

"The hell is with you?" she grumbled, pointing her fork at his plate. "You better be getting all your iron, Sasuke. If you pass out-"

"Tired," he mumbled back, sparing her a dull glance. "I had a big breakfast."

Karin sent him a scrutinizing look and turned back to her (rather violent) conversation with the rest of the girls, most of which consisted of wild hand gestures and odd expressions. It seemed as if they had taken Konohamaru as the ugly duckling under their wing, nursing him and the nasty shiner he could evidently and barely see out of. The boy didn't seem to mind being babied, though, and Sasuke suspected that he had a blooming crush on Sakura.

He flinched when Naruto caved in over his plate of food and cackled, clutching at his stomach when Kiba and Chouji's laughs grew progressively louder in front of him.

"Holy shit!" Kiba sighed and wiped a tear away from his eye, shoulders still quaking in laughter. "I can't believe you fuckin' did that, man! And then the teacher walked in-"

They broke into another round of laughter, Shikamaru joining in as he apparently caught on to what they were talking about.

"S-she screamed so loud that Shika woke up from his nap-" Naruto buried his face behind his hands, the sound of Kiba wheezing and coughing too much for him to handle. It had been downright _hysterical _when he had scribbled a certain part of male anatomy on their kindergarden teacher's desk - she had walked out to take a quick phone call, and when she walked back in, her face had gone beet red in either anger or embarrassment. Naruto thought it was a mixture of both, judging by how she sent a strongly worded letter home with him to show to his parents. At least his mom thought it was pretty funny… Minato hadn't been too amused, following through with his discipline more than Kushina ever would.

Shikamaru snickered, leaning forward on the table. "I remember that," he said. "But, of course, only everything after I woke up."

"Aw, fuck…" Kiba rubbed at his cheeks. "Oh… and then we had to sit out at recess-"

"What do you mean, _had_ to?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I seriously remember none of us sat out and played kickball, and then Sakura tattled and hit me in the head with a basketball-"

"Would you get _over_ that?" She yelled from the opposite end of the table, catching the rest of the girls' attention. "I can't believe you-"

"Come on, Sakura!" Kiba banged his fist against the table again, rattling Ino's plate and aggravating her further. "You got us timed out for the rest of the damn week!"

"And if _I _remember correctly," Tenten chimed in, "That was _Naruto's_ fault because he kissed Ino and you guys thought it was golden."

"We were playing fuckin' truth or dare-" Kiba burst into another fit of hysterics. "I-I… he-"

The blond in question groaned, flushing deeply and hiding behind his hands again. Ino rolled her eyes heavily at the memory and glared at the other, pointing her fork at him. "You _deserved_ time out for the rest of the week, Naruto. Damn you. You guys didn't even stay in the corner-"

"Youth cannot be contained to a mere corner," Lee interrupted, balling his fist. His eyes watered with unshed tears and he swallowed loudly, trying to control his racing emotions. "Youth is-"

"That's enough, Lee," Tenten shouted, clapping her hands over her ears. She sent him an irked look, waving her hand and the subject away.

Chouji whistled in front of them and slouched over, clapping his friends on the back. "Good times. Good, simple times."

Sasuke wasn't surprised one bit that Naruto's first kiss had apparently been on a playground back in Five. It was quite predictable, really. He calmly eyed the other, whose face was still hidden behind his fingers.

"Wow, Naruto," he started, voice dripping in sarcasm. "You lived a wild life."

Naruto moved his right hand away from his face to peek at Sasuke, a playful grin lighting up his features. "Yeah, Sas, you shoulda been there. I was such a badass in kindergarden, you have no idea."

"I think I got enough of an idea," he arched an eyebrow, though an equally lighthearted smile was stretching his lips. "Skipping time out? You're absolutely uncontrollable."

Naruto chuckled, resting his chin on his folded hands. Their faces were just a handful of inches apart. "You think so? I dunno, I think it comes nat-"

Kiba gagged in front of them, placing a hand on his chest. "The hell is this?"

Shikamaru snickered and sent them a knowing glance, stealing a piece of meat off of Naruto's plate. The blond whined and, in turn, stole a piece of meat off of Sasuke's plate. Kiba started at him with a strange look on his face, unblinking.

Sasuke sighed and pushed his plate towards the other. He had eaten enough today, and was frankly feeling all kinds of exhausted and irritable. Just being in this close proximity to Naruto strung him out; it was both exciting and tiring. Naruto drew emotions from him that he hadn't known to feel before… it was like standing at the top of a mossy cliff, preparing to leap off and just _fall _knowing the blond would be somewhere in the murky darkness, but not knowing what else was there.

_Whatever, _Sasuke thought, resting his chin in his folded hands and wondering if he had a fever. This was enough thinking, enough feeling, enough talking for the day. He admitted that it was enough socializing for the day, worn thin by his (idiotic) group and their antics. The watery belch Kiba had released just a moment ago was more than enough proof.

He sighed again. For whatever amount of time they stayed here, Sasuke was sure it was going to be-

"Troublesome," Shikamaru grunted, sending Kiba a disgusted look.

Sasuke chuckled. He couldn't agree more.

—

_So much for rest_, Sasuke thought.

It was unsurprisingly one in the morning and he was, unsurprisingly, lazing about the kitchen. Sometimes he wondered what was so calming about it - maybe it was that his childhood home had similar marble islands? He could definitely envision himself as a small child hopping to peek at what was on the countertop. Now, as he pressed his hip against the rounded corner of the marble, it was incredible to think about how he had been so small.

Temari had been wandering around as well, musing to him as to why he was always up so late.

"Do you even sleep?" she asked, wrapping the ties of her robe tighter around her waist.

"I slept a lot last night," Sasuke said truthfully. "So I only slept for four hours today. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Temari snorted and shook her spoon at him, swallowing a mouthful of strawberry yogurt. "That's a good question, my man. This is about the only time my bodyguards aren't hovering over me, and I like to enjoy it. I am a free-spirited and independent woman, don't doubt it for a second."

Sasuke didn't reply, running his fingers over the curled design in the marble of the island. "I think you should go to bed if you want to handle the rest of my group tomorrow, you know. They're like h-"

"Now _that _is hypocritical," she laughed and pointed her spoon at him. "_You _go to bed, Uchiha, or so help me. All I have to do is watch you guys, and trust me, that's nearly enough to knock me out for a few good hours. I almost have no idea what to group you animals in. It's ridiculous."

"Group?"

"Strength, speed, intelligence," Temari shrugged nonchalantly. "SPI so you know what it stands for. The older ones of your group, I have under control. But some of you can benefit two platoons at a time…"

"Care to explain?"

"Moreso, I want some of the girls as my med team as well…" she counted her fingers, knocking off the four females in his group. "That Lee kid is like a stallion. He'd work well in both speed and strength… I want Aburame in intelligence and strength, though I should probably put him in intelligence. Few others I forgot. And you. I want you in speed, Sasuke."

He was flattered for a few moments when he thought she was going to put him in intelligence, but speed would work for Sasuke just as well. "I-"

"You'll probably lead a squad," Temari added, tilting her head. The messy bun atop her head swayed slightly. "Just survive conditioning for the next couple of days and you'll meet your teammates. Speed's not too large, but it's bigger than intelligence, of course. I'll make sure to team you up with a couple of my other men I've been keeping an eye on…" she stared at him for a moment, pursing her lips and ending her rant. "I hope you're taking this seriously."

"I am," Sasuke said quickly. "Looking forward to it."

"I hope so," she grunted. "I can't afford any half-assers in my military."

"It's understandable. Nobody in my group should… half-ass it." He mentally winced, knowing Suigetsu would somehow find a way to do just that.

Temari worked her way to the sink and loudly tossed her spoon inside. She clapped him roughly on the shoulder, in which it took most of his abdominal muscles to stay upright.

"You're gonna be a good soldier," she said warmly. "Goodnight, Uchiha. Try to get some rest."

Sasuke watched her tiredly stumble out of the kitchen, leaving the door open behind her. He stared at the pristine yogurt cup she had left. So he was committing to a militia that seemed official enough. He guessed that he'd see the inner workings of it tomorrow.

His thoughts returned to his brother again, who would have calmly suggested they take a walk. Itachi would watch his back, and Sasuke would watch his, and they would stroll until Sasuke felt the slightest bit sluggish or became bleary-eyed.

He recalled a small creek in the forest behind their home. Sasuke, no older than five, would harass Itachi into playing with him by the mossy borders of the water. They had soon laid rough stones in the shallow creek so they could hop through it. He and his brother had made a game because of it. Whoever could hop the most - of course, steadily keeping count of their jumps - received a piggy back ride. Though it was an unfair agreement because of Sasuke's size and inability to carry Itachi, the elder would always succumb and spoil Sasuke to a ride, anyway. He remembered the steady and soothing steps his brother took, the warmth of his back against his stomach, the pressed collar of their family shirt. Itachi had yet to grow his hair out in a ponytail, so his soft wisps of hair would tickle Sasuke's cheek and he'd playfully swing his legs.

"_Will you play with me as soon as you get home tomorrow?" Sasuke pressed, nudging Itachi's jaw with his own._

"_I'll have homework to do, Sasuke," he chided. _

_The youngest pouted, squeezing his arms around Itachi's neck tighter. "Can I help you with it?"_

_The brunet laughed quietly, hoisting Sasuke higher on his back. Sasuke giggled, burying his face in Itachi's short hair. "You're too young to help me. Besides, you're going to the Academy next year. You'll learn the same things I have, Sasuke."_

_He frowned as their house came into view. "Then will you help me?"_

"_Of course I will," said Itachi. "And when I can't, mother will."_

_Sasuke scrunched his nose. He wanted only Itachi to help him, but he wouldn't voice his displeasure against their mother. She let him have cookies in between meals. _

"_You've grown," Itachi noted, kneeling to the ground so that Sasuke could jump off. His little brother stumbled a bit, still carrying some of his clumsiness that came with youth. He would miss this when the days came in which Sasuke would finally be coordinated and capable of holding his own. _

"_Gonna be bigger than you," Sasuke taunted, standing a full head and shoulders shorter than him._

_The other laughed again, poking Sasuke between the brows with his pointer and middle finger. "I'm sure you will, little brother."_

Sasuke blinked away the subtle moisture in his eyes, flinching when he realized that he had raised his own hand to poke at his forehead the way Itachi always had. He let his fingers remain there for a few moments, though his brow scrunched around them at the desire to punch something with that hand.

"Sasuke?"

He quickly moved his hand from his forehead to scratch at his cheek, blowing off the gesture.

"What are you still doing up?" Naruto squinted at the bright light in the kitchen.

"I'm already awake for the day," he replied, calmly watching the other shuffle towards the counter and collapse on top of it. "Why are you up?"

Naruto hummed and rolled over so that he was looking at Sasuke upside down. He was struggling to rest on his tip toes, his arms were splayed out on either side of him, resting on the cold marble. He was momentarily distracted by the sliver of tan skin that showed when his sleep shirt rode up with the action. The blond grinned affectionately. "Dunno. I went to bed, like, an hour ago. I woke up 'cause I felt this physical disturbance in the air, you know? It was like Kami was telling me you were up, so I went to your room, and when you weren't there, I figured you'd be eating over here."

Sasuke snorted. "I don't always eat here-"

"Yes!" Naruto insisted, rolling over so that he was leaning on his elbows. "You're covering it up right now. You're gonna come here every night to eat and then make fun of my weight-"

"You're the one that makes fun of my weight!"

Naruto growled. "Nuh _uh_," he skirted around the island.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow as Naruto came to stand directly in front of him. He leant on the island and supported himself with his elbow, awkwardly fumbling with his other hand until he stuffed it in the pocket of his pajama pants. "Hi."

"What are you doing?" he barely prevented a corner of his lips from curling up.

Naruto shrugged with one shoulder, eyeing the countertop. "Talkin'."

"When are you not," muttered Sasuke.

"You talk your fair share, too," Naruto shook his finger in his face. "But I'd say we'd have some more… important things to talk about."

He stared. _Oh_. Sasuke now guessed that he couldn't admit to loving Naruto without being questioned just a bit. He schooled his expression and swallowed heavily.

The other smiled softly. "Are you sure?" he blurted.

Sasuke opened his mouth to absentmindedly ask about what but quickly shut it. Naruto had addressed anything and everything that they were both questioning. He let a moment of silence pass before studying Naruto carefully. Naruto looked and sounded nothing less than serious, having sobered up the moment after he asked Sasuke the question.

"Of course I am," Sasuke replied, singlehandedly wiping out multiple other questions.

Naruto tilted his head down, staring at Sasuke's chest. He reached out for the other's hand, carefully taking it away from his side and digging his thumb into Sasuke's palm. Naruto knocked Sasuke's fingers back and massaged the meaty section of his palm, making him sigh in content.

He inched closer, raising Sasuke's hand in between their chests and squeezing it. "Thank you," he murmured, closely watching Sasuke's skin stretch over his knuckles.

"I haven't even done anything," the other murmured.

Naruto snorted. "Shut up."

The other quirked an eyebrow, raising his eyes to meet Naruto's. His blue eyes looked warm, comforting, and granted a sense of security over him. It was something that Sasuke had never felt before, and it was both nauseating and energizing.

Sasuke moved in, and Naruto met him halfway. Naruto's lips were soft and full against his, pulling him closer and warming him immediately. His nose touched Naruto's cheek as the other moved his lips against Sasuke's, their lips sliding against each other and catching slightly. Sasuke pushed harder against his lips, raising both of his hands to cup Naruto's cheeks as the other gripped at his shoulders and pulled him closer.

Their lips loudly smacked against each other and it only incited him further as Naruto tugged at his hair and pressed the tip of his tongue to the seam of Sasuke's lips. It turned hungrier, needier, harder, when he opened his mouth to welcome Naruto's moist tongue. He didn't think before knotting his fingers in the other's thick hair and sliding his tongue against Naruto's. Sasuke tilted his head to kiss him more deeply, but Naruto broke the kiss and tugged at his hair to kiss the corner of his mouth to trail soft kisses down his jaw. He stopped at Sasuke's ear to nuzzle his nose into his hair before tugging at it again to bare his neck, licking at a cord of muscle.

Their chests were pressed flush together, hearts racing quickly. Sasuke sighed shakily, barely retaining a soft moan. He ran his fingers over Naruto's nape and dug them into his shoulders, a healthy flush invading his cheeks. The other pressed his lips harder to his Adam's apple, sucking gently. Sasuke shivered and tugged Naruto back up by his hair, smashing their open mouths together. He nipped and pulled at the blond's bottom lip, breathing heavily through his nose. Naruto moaned into the kiss as their tongues met again, roughly slicking against each other.

"For _Kami's_ sake!"

He broke the kiss, eyes wide as a string of saliva hit his chin. Sasuke quickly dabbed it away and cringed to see Temari with both of her hands clamped over her eyes, her lips drawn into a taut line.

"I didn't see _any _of that," she grumbled to herself, peeking through her fingers.

He flushed deeply, caught red-handed. Naruto was no better out of the corner of his eye, stuck in the middle of hiding behind the counter.

Temari frowned and raised her hand, an impish smirk on her face as she attempted to seriously reprimand the pair. "You save that for somewhere that's _not _the kitchen," she told them. "And preferably _not _on missions. Do you understand?"

Sasuke quickly nodded, accounting for both Naruto and himself. Temari snickered to herself, shuffling out the door again. "I came for rice and got more than that. Goodnight, boys."

Sasuke listened to her shuffle down the hallway before turning back to Naruto, still halfway crouched behind the island and shaking.

"What the hell is so funny!" he growled. "Do you realize that she could have been seriously mad? Afraid of it? Kicked us out because of it-"

"Hey, calm down," Naruto stood and wiped at his eyes, his face flushed from a mixture of embarrassment and exertion. "She's obviously not angry and she obviously won't _kick us out, _you drama queen. I thought girls liked this kind of stuff."

Sasuke scowled. "Well, who's to say others aren't. Don't kiss me in public-"

"I thought this was mutual!" Naruto threw his hands in the air.

"Whatever. Just when no one's around," he mumbled, sending the other a warning glare.

"Fine, fine."

He kept his arms crossed, body angled slightly away from Naruto's. The other leant backwards against the island, displaying that distracting section of skin again.

Sasuke snorted. "I'm going back to bed."

"Wait!" Naruto grabbed at his elbow, tugging him back.

He gave the other a calculating look, turning towards him and waiting for him to speak. When Naruto hesitated, he tilted his head. "What?"

The blond tugged at his ear. "Well… who are you gonna tell? About us?"

"Nobody. And you're not telling anybody, either."

"But… no fair. Just one person."

"Temari already knows. That's enough. She's our commander."

"Not even _one? _But I want them to know."

Sasuke sniffed. "Is it me?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "No, bastard. I wanna tell Sakura-"

"No."

"What? But why! She's my friend and I just want to let her-"

"You tell Sakura," Sasuke made an outward motion with his hand. "You tell Karin, Ino, Tenten, Kiba, Chouji, Suigetsu-" he struggled to remember the names of everyone in their whole group.

"But she won't do that," Naruto reasoned, grabbing his hand that was in the air and intertwining their fingers. "I promise. I'll let her know that it's serious and she can't tell anyone. You don't even want to tell Juugo?"

Sasuke sighed through his nose. He knew that Juugo wouldn't tell a soul, but it wasn't something he was comfortable with having another person wondering about from time to time. He stared at Naruto, considering the sincerity in his expression and tone of voice.

"I'd prefer if you wouldn't," he said. "But I guess it's your choice. If she tells _anyone, _I'll make sure to let Ino know what you said about her-"

"I promise! I promise!" he squeezed Sasuke's hand reassuringly. "I'll make sure she doesn't tell anyone, okay?"

"Fine," he sighed, squeezing back.

They walked back to the dorm wings together, parting with a quick and discreet peck (which Naruto initiated). Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled back to his room, unlocking it clumsily and barely shutting it properly before collapsing back onto his bed. He fell asleep again, dreaming of a deep lake with flipping fish and a sun in the near horizon.

* * *

><p>The next morning at promptly seven A.M, Sasuke reported to breakfast with his dreary-eyed teammates. A few of the members (Suigetsu) were slumping over the table and using their pancakes as a pillow, having stayed up too late the night before. Kiba was unsteady on his feet, and Sasuke just knew he had blown off the severity of their condition. Sakura didn't look at him with curiosity or knowledge, so he concluded that Naruto hadn't told her yet.<p>

When Naruto first arrived at the table, the only souls there were the girls and Sai at a disconcerting amount of distance from each other. The girls huddled together and whispered about something, Karin backing out first and clutching at her stomach in laughter.

"What are we giggling about?" he asked, leaning against the table.

They moved in unity, looking at each other, then back at him, then at each other again. They burst into giggles again and didn't let him in on what was so damn funny, quieting down for a few moments before glancing at him and going into another round of girly laughter.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled and waved his hands at them. "He he he he he." Naruto would never understand what the girls were ever up to.

Shortly after that, Juugo and Suigetsu arrived, bringing Shino and Kiba in their wake. The members of their group slowly trickled in, Sasuke seating himself quietly after Konohamaru had. He accepted the discreet squeeze to his hand under the table and calmly waited for someone else to bring their food.

Beside him, Naruto inhaled a pile of pancakes and stole more bacon off of his own plate. He took the opportunity to steal a whole pancake off of Sasuke's plate when he angrily turned his head the other way to shove Suigetsu off of him. Karin shoved him back and threatened to hit both of them, eventually letting his face fall in his pile of scrambled eggs.

"It's like you want me to starve," Sasuke deadpanned, observing his plate that was missing a good amount of food from when he had studied it before.

"You eat like a bird," Naruto told him around a mouthful of biscuit.

Sasuke shrugged, ignoring Naruto's horrified gags and questions as he poured ketchup on his eggs. "I've done this since I was little."

"Gross!" the other complained, reaching over to stab at them anyway. He chewed with a disgusted face and swallowed like he had been stabbed in the leg.

"I'll be damned," Sasuke lowered his voice. "You've _finally_ found a food you don't like."

"'Cuz it's weird."

"It's not."

"Yes it is!"

"No, it's not."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"_Yes it is!" _ Kiba yelled, banging his fist on the table and spilling a few drops of Ino's orange juice. She turned and pushed at his shoulder roughly.

"I want to try what Sasuke's doing," Ino chimed in, shoving Kiba away to reach for the ketchup bottle.

"It's disgusting," Karin said, her voice nasally and disapproving.

"It's good!" she defended, happily chewing on the eggs. "Sasuke, you're so smart! How-"

He was distracted by Kiba, who was following her words with his own mouth and making feminine gestures with his hands. Naruto guffawed next to him, encouraging Konohamaru to cackle loudly.

"Kiba, why don't you ever shut up?" Ino smacked him upside the head and sent his forehead flat to his empty plate.

Karin snickered next to him, and both her and Naruto elbowed him in the ribs. "Sasuke this, Sasuke that," she imitated. Sasuke glared down at her and shoved Naruto's arm away.

"You used to be worse than that," he reminded her.

"Yeah, 'cause I've _seen _how you are with low iron _and _blood sugar."

The back of his neck heated and he glared at his plate, doing his best to ignore Karin's snickers beside him.

"Girls are gonna be _girls," _Naruto said into his ear, barely containing his own laughter.

"Shut up."

"Take my wise words or leave them," he countered.

"Your words have _never _been wise," snapped Sasuke.

"Yes, they have." Naruto grinned smugly and rested his head back on his arms, stretching his torso.

He snorted, shoving his empty plate back onto the metal platter for disposal. Breakfast had come to a quick end, most of the population of the Center hurrying to rid of their trash and digest their food. It was only a matter of minutes before the digital clock above their heads hit a large eight.

Kiba chattered to Shikamaru and Naruto in front of them, and he contently observed their interaction. He wondered if either of them would be put in speed with him.

Sasuke watched Temari and her guards come into the lobby on a larger elevator than the ones used to deploy them outside. She stepped off and headed into the infirmary, most likely checking on her doctors or a patient.

He frowned as her guards stayed behind and shouted out to begin leaving for conditioning, watching the people occupying first few tables in the lobby stand at attention and begin filing in line to cram onto the elevator. They worked together to lift the door above their heads, inviting bright rays of sunlight inside.

"It's time?" Suigetsu asked sleepily beside him, running a hand over the drool on his cheek.

Sasuke sighed.

* * *

><p>AN: God, falling in love is just so… nauseating. Hope you all got second hand embarrassment from their little conversation. Naruto's so cute. By the way, when I write scenes like that, I actually don't have the intention of it being fluffy. It just… comes out like that. It's weird. I'll rot your teeth out if I try. Ah, don't forget to leave a review, and until next time. :)


	24. Under Orders

Chapter 23: Under Orders

* * *

><p>Ten hours later, Sasuke leant against the railing on the elevator to keep from collapsing. They had been rushed outside under the order to begin "warming up" with a long series of stretches a five mile run.<p>

A few of the men in Sasuke's platoon explained to him that they were all required to attend conditioning three times a week, but intelligence needed to attend only once. Intelligence spent most of their time working closely with the Sergeant and planning out every single detail of their filed missions and infiltrations. Frankly, Sasuke wanted to be placed in intelligence.

The weather outside had warmed up considerably, any trace of snow having melted away completely. The sun shone over their heads and a cool breeze whistled through the forest, welcoming spring with open arms. The men had also explained to him, around the occasional gag as they ran through the woods and the temptation to just keel over, that they would be put in teams based on their performance levels. The teams that he would occasionally hear being called to GU over the intercom were identified by SP-6, SP-9, SP-18… according to them, speed team six would report to work with a strength team like ST-2 and so on. With more complicated and risqué missions, an Speed-Strength-Intelligence squad would be formed beforehand to be deployed. Sasuke found the procedures stiff and distantly wondered why Temari would form such an intricate system.

He was both surprised and annoyed to find that Sai and Suigetsu had been placed with him. They hovered behind his back, only getting along due to both of their loves for snark and inappropriate comments. It was only three hours into training and Sai had questioned the size of his penis five (yes, he was ever so grudgingly counting) times. Suigetsu did his best to supply Sai's knowledge of his private areas, but was immediately shot down.

Sasuke actually attempted to seek Tenten's peaceful company. Really, he did, but she eventually slipped away to work with the women in the group because of the two dumbfucks following him. He wouldn't dare to bathe in Kakashi's company. For some reason, the older man was practically leading their platoon, and Sasuke didn't want to be within ten feet of him. He wished death upon Suigetsu, letting Sai's comments pass because Naruto had convinced him that Sai wasn't a bad guy. He trusted the other's words, but… it was immensely difficult to see where they were coming from.

After the five miles, they had been pushed by Kankurou to follow him in an overbearing amount of pushups, sit-ups, crunches, and an array of other odd cardio exercises that shielded Suigetsu's unconscious body from Kankurou's sight. Sasuke was sure that he'd lost half of his body weight in sweat, wondering if he'd ever gain the weight Karin said he'd needed at this point.

As some sick joke Kankurou didn't seem to find funny, their cool down was another five mile run that they were allowed to jog half of and another pressing sequence of stretches. Suigetsu made attempts to jump on his back during the one, and he would roughly shove the other face first on the ground before speeding up to get away from the dynamic duo.

Altogether, having Suigetsu's weight on him at random intervals and sprinting for nearly twenty minutes at a time led him to be nearly the first to finish, being bested by Kakashi. It left him with shaky legs and his hair plastered to his face, his jumpsuit sticking uncomfortably to him.

"Why do you have to be so stingy?" Suigetsu said in his ear, wrapping his arm around Sasuke's shoulders and pressing their sweaty necks and cheeks together.

Sasuke was nothing short of purely disgusted and shoved the other away, shrugging his shoulder to rub at his neck and rid of Suigetsu's disgusting sweat.

"Very good stamina," Sai noted, practically breathing down his neck.

"Both of you, get the hell away from me."

"That's no way to talk to your friends," Kakashi scolded, tilting his head.

Sasuke ignored him, leaning against a rough tree that shaded them all. He wished to take a shower and get rid of all the sweat he was drenched in. Kakashi adopted the same stance as him, crossing his arms and knocking his chin up quietly. A joke of an impersonation since the man still stood half of a head over him.

Sasuke sighed. "What."

"What?" Kakashi girlishly put a hand over his mouth. "Can't I spend time with my favorite?"

His skin crawled. "Get away from me."

"That's no way to talk to your elder."

Sasuke scrunched his nose. He had kind of set himself up for that one. He reveled in the cool breeze that passed and watched Suigetsu collapse to the ground on his hands and knees, wheezing and panting. "I'm very well aware that you're my elder."

Kakashi sniffed, inspecting his nails. It pissed Sasuke off. "I see you still have that superiority complex of yours. I honestly thought you grew out of it, but you've proved me wrong, Sasu."

He growled, turning away from the taller man. "First of all, I've never had one-"

"So _help_ me-"

"Be quiet," he told Kakashi. Telling the man to shut up would have lead to a firm reprimanding and guilting.

But, of course, he set himself up, and Kakashi still saw a window to reprimand him firmly and guilt him. "My, my, Sasuke. All of this fuss? What happened to the cute little boy that would always ask for piggy back rides?"

Sasuke's ears scorched and he hunched away from Kakashi.

"All I want to do is _help_ you," he said forlornly. "Getting over it is one part of the healing process, Sasuke. There's nothing wrong with accepting help every once in a while."

At that, his shoulders relaxed a bit, but not for Kakashi's sake. He'd already accepted help, but from another person that could do more than Kakashi ever hoped to.

"This is the last time I'm telling you," Sasuke said harshly. "I'm dealing with it."

"Are you? Can you really push through it?" Kakashi tilted his head towards the sky, watching thin clouds move quickly.

"Yes."

"Will this get in the way of your new duties? Will you be able to face it if we find Itachi moving through these woods? Would you be able to follow through under killing orders, or would you back down?"

Sasuke's nostrils flared and he glared at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. "I can."

"Imagine you found Itachi's body somewhere on a mission. Imagine if you witnessed someone else shooting or stabbing him. Imagine if he tried to kill _you_-"

He angrily turned towards Kakashi, his lips in a tight line. "I can do it, dammit."

Kakashi's somber expression vanished within that same moment, being replaced by a friendly crinkling of his eyes. "I believe you."

"You better."

He marched back to the Center alone when Kakashi compared him to Gai.

—

He sat on an examination table in the infirmary, one of the doctors typing at a thick laptop and Temari by her side. It was an odd sight seeing the woman with thin-rimmed glasses and her pressed uniform, looking so fixated on the screen. He had gotten used to seeing her in an informal bath robe and a bit silly with only a few hours of sleep on her shoulders. There was a one-sided awkwardness when Sasuke recalled her walking in on an affectionate moment between he and Naruto, but she seemed to brush it off for the sake of business.

"I see," she murmured. The doctor waved a manila folder over both of their faces so Sasuke couldn't hear their conversation, but it was no help.

"Underweight? He looks just about healthy enough to me." Temari lowered the folder and gave him a quick once-over, then lifted it back up as if she weren't loud enough for Sasuke to clearly hear her.

"Still has a bit of growing left…" she shifted her weight to one foot as the doctor uttered something he couldn't hear.

"Okay… check out his muscle tissue there, please." Temari swatted the folder away again and turned to him. "Can you lift your left arm above your head?"

Sasuke did just so with ease, staring blankly at her. She pursed her lips and the doctor threw the folder back up.

"What! Why didn't you tell me this earlier!" she hissed at the doctor, leaning into the laptop again.

"It seems to have stabilized," the doctor said, her voice wavering slightly. "RBC is still slightly under what's considered normal, but it's not life-threatening."

"It won't go away?" Temari asked bluntly.

"No ma'am."

She snatched the folder from the doctor's hands and opened it, licking her finger to thumb through the pages. "You come with a _lot _of terms and conditions, Uchiha."

The doctor sighed and shut the laptop, rounding the examination table to inspect his left shoulder and the mobility of his arm.

"Am I supposed to be offended?"

Temari cast his scarred shoulder a scrutinizing look. "Maybe, maybe not. Does it work?"

"His arm seems just fine," the doctor replied, exasperated. "Tsunade reported using the experimental serum from One. There's not any significant damage."

Significant damage? Sasuke snorted aloud. If she didn't consider the thick and blaring scar on his shoulder from Ino's "slip of the hand" significant damage, then he loved the Sectors.

Temari waved away another doctor giving a physical to another man in speed. She pursed her lips at the medical language inside of the folder, opting to look straight at Sasuke. "Well… welcome to speed, Uchiha. Doc here is gonna keep an eye on you, but whenever you feel bad during conditioning, remember Tenten's one of my medics."

"Hn," Sasuke regarded her with indifferent eyes. He knew that he was going to make it into speed. Though he'd much rather prefer Karin tending to him than a girl he'd barely knew, he would have to remember that. Something throbbed inside of him when he remembered all of the medical books Karin had left behind at their camp.

"-is that kid gonna heal, anyway?" Temari was talking to someone across the whole room, through at least ten people.

"In time," Tsunade's voice answered vaguely.

The woman in front of him grunted. "Eh, you're good to go, Uchiha." She flipped through his file once again, skimming over information.

He sighed and stood, stretching out his back. Sasuke was thankful for the chance to finally shower, his skin feeling grimy and his face feeling like he had a few layers of dirt on it.

Just as he turned to leave, Temari spoke up. "Would you look at that. You have a mole on your butt cheek."

Sasuke ignored her, pushing off of the table and weaning his way out. Some man with bandages wrapped around his whole head groaned for him to end his pain. He ducked out of the room, the glass door sifting shut behind him and a light on its card reader clicking green to signify its locking. He was glad to finally escape the stale and sterile scent of cleaning supplies with a faint trace of sweat and blood.

Sasuke entered the lobby and stopped for a few moments to watch some men unfold their tables and set them down. He walked towards the elevator and glanced at the clock above his head, waiting for it to come up. He'd have about twenty minutes until dinner was served. Perfect.

He stood on the elevator with a couple of other men who chattered about their upcoming missions with power. Sasuke strolled to his room and knocked the light on with his elbow, quickly grabbing for his pajamas and a clean pair of boxers.

Never had he seen the shower room in his wing so packed. Sasuke could barely breathe with all of the steam that had accumulated, accompanied by the all-too-manly scent of sweat. Two stocky men wrestled nearby him, both of them wearing only a towel and still dripping with sweat that had come from conditioning. Sasuke did his best to ignore them and grabbed for a clean towel, ducking into a stall that was still sudsy from a previous user.

He hoped he didn't catch athlete's foot. Or an STD. He scrubbed his body down with the generic body wash that was regularly brought in supplies by mission-goers, thanking Kami that he'd finally had the chance to be clean.

Sasuke tilted his head back in the stream to let the water wash over his face and drip out of his hair, jumping when his shower curtain hissed open.

He swatted at the culprit, his neck flushing deeply. "Fuck _off, _Sai!"

"Maybe you are not so dickless!"

Sasuke opened his mouth, but was quickly cut off by a few other angered men in the room. "This little guy's been peekin' at everyone!"

"I'm only doing you all a favor. After all, some of your egos simply don't add up to your dick size."

Someone wheezed in disbelief, and Sasuke angrily shut the water off and dried himself quickly. Would he ever be able to escape Sai? Would he be placed on missions with Sai, and did Sai even live in this wing?

The room door slammed open and another familiar voice filled the room.

He jammed his limbs into his clothes and shoes and threw the shower curtain open, revealing Sai looking as if he honestly believed he hadn't done anything wrong. Naruto had an arm wrapped around the other's neck, defending him from a burly man who had been particularly offended by the comment on his penis.

"I-I swear! He's just weird! Sai here has always been weird, it's just the way he is," Naruto nervously rubbed Sai on the head, disheveling his hair. "Right, man? C'mon-"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke cut him off. "What are both of you doing here?"

Naruto turned to him, his frightened expression brightening into a grin. "Hey! I was lookin' for you, asshole!"

"Yes," Sasuke deadpanned, sending the other a disapproving look. "But what is-"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat the shit out of you!" Another man yelled over his voice, pushing through the small crowd and attempting to tackle Sai. A few of the other men held him back by the arms.

Naruto stuttered. Sai placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding calmly and turning to address most of the men in the room. "Because," he said pleasantly. "You are dickless."

Naruto squawked, immediately being shoved out of the way by the men beside him. They all lunged for Sai, attempting to grab at the towel around his waist or land a good punch.

Sasuke stared, ducking when someone mistook him for Sai and giving the man who did a cold stare. Now he couldn't see the other boy amongst the grand circle of the men trying to get a hold of him.

"Aren't you gonna help him?" Naruto shook him by the shoulders roughly and glanced behind them to check on Sai.

"That's your job."

"_Sasuke." _

"What? He'll get out on his own," he said, irritated. "We're going to be late for dinner."

"What the hell! That's what you're thinking about?" Naruto buried his hands in his own hair and tugged. "What if they _kill_-"

"I very much doubt that," Sasuke dismissed. "He can handle this on his own. You're not his _guard."_

"Yeah, but I'm his _friend_," Naruto argued. "I can't let him down like that."

"He got himself into this mess, and I doubt he'll die. Now, let's go e-"

The other removed his hands from his head, lowering them to cross his arms and narrow his eyes. "Is it me, or am I seriously getting a jealousy vibe from you? Is _that_ what _this-"_

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. "No! Let him get beaten because it's the ramification of his own decision. What normal person just comes in here and talks-"

The blond stared at the other, at his intense dark eyes ablaze with irritation and the subtle flush on his cheeks from the humidity in the room. Naruto had no idea what the words Sasuke used meant, but he guessed it meant something along the lines of, "Yes, Naruto, I'm jealous. I am insatiably and helplessly in love with you. Please show me how much I mean to you and protect me, not Sai. I _need _y-"

"Dumbass!" Naruto blinked to find Sasuke shaking him roughly by the shoulder, angry.

"Huh?"

Sasuke glared at the other, relieved to finally see his blue eyes unglazed and focused. He clucked his tongue and turned to leave the room, filled with taunting shouts from the men and Sai's monotone excuses. Naruto was stupid, delusional, loud, annoying, and… did he forget to say stupid?

He tossed his towel in the large pile of dirty ones, slipping out the door with Naruto hot on his heels.

"You're mean," the blond chided behind him.

Sasuke ignored him. He jingled his room key in his pocket and quickly made his way down the halls, past a rowdy group of boys in just their underwear, heading for the showers. They had slowed to eye them both, recognizing them as _newbies, _their gazes lingering on Sasuke for just a bit too long_. _

"I'm tired," Naruto tried again. "Will you carry me?"

"No."

Naruto made it a point to get into Sasuke's close quarters, crossing his arms when the boys stared at Sasuke for a few seconds longer than necessary, most likely in awe. They couldn't have been older than thirteen. He'd make it a point to mention them to Konohamaru, but the boy seemed hooked on being spoilt by the girls in their group and listening in on all their damn gossip. Naruto would have to get Sakura reigned down for more than a few moments to confront her… the door to the shower room slammed closed far behind them.

He shook his head, fixing his eyes on the back of Sasuke's pale neck and thin, slouchy shoulders. He pouted, quickly bored of being ignored and the lack of conversation. When Sasuke ignored Naruto, there was only one thing to do to gain his social interest again: Provoke him. And _provoking _was one of the few things Naruto was good at.

Naruto reached for Sasuke's arm, grabbing him by the elbow and whirling him around. Sasuke shoved his face away before their kiss could be named anything other than a peck, growling.

"_No," _he said firmly.

"But there's nobody around," Naruto whined, diving ahead of Sasuke to press the button for their elevator.

"Hn. Somebody could have opened their door."

"And then the world would end," Naruto sighed, leaning on the metal railing of the elevator.

"I-"

"You're seriously not gonna tell anyone about us?" he asked, slightly disappointed.

Sasuke glared at him, obviously not amused by the fact that they were discussing this in a potentially high-traffic area for the other people in the building.

"I mean, you barely told _me_."

His glare softened and he gave it a bit of thought. The first person that came to mind was Juugo, Shikamaru following closely behind. Of course, Sasuke thought of telling Karin, but she wasn't exactly the most tight-lipped person on the planet. Suigetsu was completely off the grid and the idea of telling him was tossed just as soon as the thought came into Sasuke's mind.

"Okay," he agreed, stepping onto the ledge with Naruto. The other pressed their arms together, leaning into him. "I'll tell Juugo and Shika-"

"_I _wanna tell Shikamaru!" Naruto interrupted, nearly making him jump. He realized his slight blowup and chuckled nervously. "Sorry. Uh, I'll tell Sakura and Shikamaru, and you have to tell two people."

He rolled his eyes. "We don't have to tell anyone," Sasuke deadpanned just as they reached the lobby.

"I think telling is better than someone randomly finding out," Naruto said stubbornly, stepping off of the platform before Sasuke. He refrained from saying that he was basically Sasuke's only friend, as the other steadily refused to open his mouth much around anyone other than Naruto and Itachi. Now that his brother wasn't around to balance his reclusive personality out, it was left to Naruto to get Sasuke talking.

"Fine."

They sat at their table, in which a concerning amount of their group was asleep on the table. Suigetsu was dead to the world next to him, and Shikamaru was especially drowsy alongside Kiba. Naruto whined for all of them to wake up, wanting their unofficial team of "bad-joke-makers" as he called them to come together again.

Nearing the end of their meal, Naruto nudged him all too roughly in the ribs. It snapped him out of his languid pushing around of the little food left on his plate. "What?"

"Hey, _Sasuke," _Naruto taunted, leaning on his elbow to get in Sasuke's face. "I'm in strength, and you're not. I'm _stronger_ than you!"

He nearly laughed aloud at how ridiculous that comment was, but he settled for a scoff. "That doesn't mean anything, idiot."

"Even _Ino's _in strength," Naruto lowered his voice and Sasuke doubted the courage behind his words, knowing that he was terrified of the girl in question overhearing. "So is Sakura and Karin-"

"Strength is the largest of the platoons," Sasuke said smugly, though he felt slightly offended on Karin's behalf. She had been put in strength because of her truest abilities. "It's the first thing Sergeant looks at. If you don't fit anywhere else, you get placed there. Nothing special."

Naruto scowled. "You-"

"Hn," Sasuke kicked away the foot that had ventured to his. "Wouldn't you wish to be in speed."

The other scrunched his nose, stumped for any sort of comeback. "Yeah, whatever." He grumbled a few more incoherent insults and jabs under his breath, angrily stuffing a carrot in his mouth.

Sasuke snorted, content that he had driven Naruto into silence. He was also content that Karin would now have the strength to beat Suigetsu into silence. It would certainly be useful, not to mention that it would be amusing to watch.

Moments later, he watched as Shino stood to deliver their empty platter back to the kitchen. Some of their teammates stood tiredly and trudged away, voicing their exhaustion and offering small waves of goodnights. Sasuke noted that Juugo hadn't joined them for dinner that night, and distantly wondered where he could have been. He observed Karin jabbing insults at one semi-conscious Suigetsu for a few moments before briefly fixing his eyes on the girl next to her. Sakura and Ino put out banters and arguments more often than conversing. He toyed with the idea of what Naruto saw in her to declare Sakura his best friend, second to himself, of course. Perhaps it was how often she found it her job to correct Naruto in his stupid, absentminded, perverted, useless, slow, and _loud _antics. But, like anyone else, Naruto rarely listened to Sakura's insults and threats to stitch his mouth shut.

So he turned to the boy beside him, nudged him on the thigh, and mumbled, "I'm going to go talk to Juugo."

Naruto turned to him, a grin already consuming his features. "G'luck, asshole!" He rubbed harshly at his knee.

Sasuke hummed and let the warmth Naruto's touch brought roll throughout him. Before leaving, he asked Karin if she had seen Juugo.

"Actually…" Karin shoved Suigetsu away. "He might be in the infirmary or his room. He got kind of… frustrated… in conditioning."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. "Just how-"

"Not too much," she snorted nervously. "But I think he scared the captain. We both live in wing five, if he's not in the infirmary. He must live somewhere in the thirties."

"Thanks," Sasuke grumbled, though he knew he wouldn't go knocking on nine different doors in a trial and error sequence just to find the larger boy.

He stood from the table with a lighter mood than what he had sat down with before. Naruto attempted to trip him as he lifted his leg from the other table, but with a quick jab to the back of the neck, Naruto whined and relented.

Nobody stared at him or spared him a second glance as he left the table and headed towards the opposite side of the lobby. Sasuke peered into the hallway that contained the infirmary and a lift outside. He stared at the criss cross design on the infirmary door's window, a sign that it was bulletproof. Glancing past the window, he saw the rows of occupied beds and closed curtains. On an examination table stood a large man that Sasuke almost mistook for Juugo, save for the fact that he was missing an arm. He sighed in relief when he saw that Juugo's back was turned to him, sitting on a bed and talking to a patient.

His eyes dropped to the card reader by the handle of the door and he sighed. It blinked bright blue periodically, the moving image of a sliding card flickering on the screen mocking him. Sasuke wondered if he'd be allowed to knock on the door and enter, or if he would simply have to wait to talk to Juugo until tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't have the patience to tell Juugo tomorrow, and he was in the right mindset to tell him right now. A woman's voice bled through the metal and he backed away into the shadows. Her hand pressed against the door and Sasuke could see her ID card in the other one. He recognized her as one of the doctors that had been inspecting them when they first arrived.

Sasuke listened as she said goodbye to another doctor inside and tensed as he heard the slick of her card in the reader on the other side of the door. She opened the door in a moderate arc, quickly exiting. Once her back was turned, Sasuke quickly used his hand to stop the door from closing and slid inside of the infirmary, the door quietly sifting shut behind him.

It was hard to think that he'd been inside of this room not too long ago. Sasuke paused as a doctor passed by him but spared him no second glance. His shoulders sagged in relief and he made the sharp turn to where Juugo was seated, staring at him curiously. Sasuke sat down on the bed next to him, a modest amount of space between their bodies. He was surprised to see that the patient Juugo was visiting happened to be Konohamaru, unconscious on his bed.

"Sasuke," Juugo said calmly. A greeting. He peered down at him in a friendly manner.

Sasuke grunted. "Juugo." He almost started sliding into the crater that Juugo created in the bed, though it did bring them a few inches closer.

The other offered him a small smile, resting his hands in his lap. He glanced back at Konohamaru's peaceful face, gesturing towards the boy. "I'm visiting him because he was upset that he couldn't join us to train."

Sasuke prevented himself from bouncing his leg up and down, instead taking a deep breath. It still smelled relentlessly sterile in the room. "That makes sense. His arm will take a while to heal."

Juugo winced. "I was there when he broke it like that. It wasn't pretty."

"It mustn't have been," he replied, casting his eyes down to a wrinkle in Konohamaru's blankets. Juugo didn't reply, and he let a moment of comfortable silence pass between them.

"Karin saved you a plate from dinner," Sasuke said, pressing his lips together.

"Did she? I'll make sure to thank her later," Juugo grinned appreciatively.

Another moment of silence, though an ounce of awkwardness dripped into it. Or maybe it was just Sasuke. Was Juugo noticing his stiffness? He usually wasn't one for small talk. He took in a another deep breath through his nose. It burned slightly. Sasuke didn't waste another moment thinking about how strongly it smelled of bleach or paper or baby powder.

"Juugo."

The other straightened slightly, almost as if he had been waiting for Sasuke to address him. He simply turned to Sasuke, his face clear.

Sasuke stared at a wall across the room. "I'm in a relationship with Naruto."

Juugo made a small, approving noise. It could have been interpreted as a chuckle. "Blunt as ever, Sasuke."

He said nothing, though he was relieved at least one of his childhood friends had been accepting. If he admitted it, then it took a lot for him just to sit next to Juugo. Sasuke couldn't imagine what he would do if Juugo had gasped in surprise or backed away from him in disgust.

"I am happy for you," Juugo whispered, setting a large hand on his shoulder. Sasuke turned to him, watching as a close-mouthed smile grew on his lips.

"I'm happy that you're not upset," Sasuke replied. He fed off of the comforting aura Juugo emitted, reveling in it that he had one person besides Naruto on his side.

The other paused and tilted his head. "I don't think anyone would be upset, Sasuke."

He carefully inspected the sincerity in Juugo's eyes before nodding. The hand on his shoulder squeezed and returned to Juugo's side.

"Though Karin might be a bit… excited," Juugo's eyes narrowed at the wall in front of them. "You are telling her, right?"

Sasuke allowed a smirk to slip onto his face, shaking his head. "I guess I have no choice now."

Juugo laughed quietly. He adopted a more serious expression and turned his body towards Sasuke, holding a hand out. "Do you need me to have a word with Naruto…?"

Sasuke blanched. "No, d—it's fine, you don't need to-"

Juugo chuckled beside him, slightly bouncing them both on the bed. Thankfully, he changed the subject for him, bouncing back to the subject they'd been discussing beforehand. "Good luck with that," he said. He glanced to the ceiling. "With both telling Karin and your relationship, Sasuke. I think you've made a good choice."

Sasuke squeezed his own knee. He'd heard that once before, though it had come from Naruto himself. "Thank you, Juugo."

The other looked at complete peace, a soft smile on his features. "It's never been a problem, Sasuke."

Had it really never been?

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Sasuke stood quietly. He stepped over the wires of Konohamaru's monitors and nodded Juugo a goodbye. The door was heavy as he opened it, and it shut with a loud hiss behind him as he stepped into the darkness of the hallway. The chatter from the lobby had died down considerably, and he wondered if even Karin would still be around.

Sasuke thought back to that morning, to when Kakashi had given him some sort of… pep talk. As if Kakashi needed to know what kind of mental state he was in. But now that he'd spoken with Juugo, he realized exactly what Kakashi had been doing - it was another one of his reverse psychology sessions. What had been disguised as an interrogation had proven to be some ego-boost towards Sasuke. Kakashi had managed to make Sasuke convince himself that he _could _push through and past the loss of his brother. The man seemed to have the assumption that Sasuke was insecure about it - it nearly made him laugh out loud.

It pissed him off.

Sasuke exited the corridor and glanced towards their dinner table, of which the only occupants were Tenten and Karin. Good, now he wouldn't have to hunt for Karin in her room. He squared his shoulders and headed towards the table, prepared to ask for a few minutes alone with Karin.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat on a soft lounge couch with Shikamaru, tensed beyond the point of recognition and with a light sheen of sweat developing on the back of his neck.<p>

Shikamaru grunted beside him, leaning back into the cushions. "Are you constipated?"

Naruto scowled, crossing his legs in a natural and easygoing manner. He clamped his hands together on top of his thighs. "No."

The other hummed, apparently in deep thought. He glanced towards a crooked painting hanging on the wall. Naruto stared as Shikamaru became dead to the world, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Uh…" Naruto tugged at his earlobe. "Shika, I actually came to tell you something-"

"What is it," Shikamaru sighed. "I'm especially tired today, so make it quick before I fall asleep."

He barely held in a startled squawk, turning towards Shikamaru on the couch.

"Well, um…" Naruto made a few hand gestures, attempting to gather his thoughts. "You know, growing up, you were the only one that really tried to talk to me in daycare. Uh, I don't know if you remember, but you were actually my first friend," he grinned lopsidedly and scratched the back of his head, watching as Shikamaru returned the same amused grin. "And then everyone else kinda warmed up to me. But, anyway, I-well…"

Naruto cleared his throat, cursing himself for not being able to find any words. He knew he should have practiced this! "Since, you're one of my closest friends besides Sakura, I just…" he gestured uselessly again. "Want you to know that, uh, I'm kind of dating Sasuke… I mean, I'm not with him!"

Shikamaru tilted his head slightly, opening his mouth.

"No! I am! I'm d—Sasuke's my boyfriend!" He blurted, immediately freezing at his choice of words. _Damn _it! His brain had gotten all frozen up. Kami was gonna kill him! Sasuke was gonna kill him! And meanwhile, Shikamaru would fall asleep! Naruto wanted nothing more than to bury his face in his hands and roll away from the other.

After few more moments of fighting with himself, Naruto turned back to Shikamaru, flushed in embarrassment. "Huh?"

Shikamaru stared at the ceiling, just at ease as he'd been before Naruto had dogged him. His chin rested in his hand. The sleepy boy turned to him, slightly confused. "Eh? Should I be more surprised?"

Naruto's jaw dropped, quickly putting the pieces together. "Shika! How'd you-"

"Shush!" He dug a pinky finger in his ear to block out Naruto's voice, a scowl washing over his face. "Naruto, I just don't _care _who you're with."

He grinned, grabbing Shika by the shoulder and jostling him a bit. "Thanks! You know, I was actually really worried that it would bother you-"

"It doesn't," Shikamaru waved a dismissive hand. "Congratulations, I guess. Tell Uchiha I send him my condolences."

Naruto opened his mouth to laugh, but quickly jammed it shut. "Hey!"

Shikamaru snickered, leaning back into the couch cushions. "Take it easy, Naruto," he waved at him again, a signal for him to leave. Naruto lingered for a few moments, his lips curled in a grin.

"G'night," he waved back as he left, swinging out of the doorway. Naruto jammed his hands in his pockets, heading towards a lift at the end of the hall.

As soon as he jammed the button for it to come back down, he grinned to himself. "Shika's such a good friend," he murmured.

Happily, he took to the halls of the dorms with a slight bounce in his step. He wondered where Sasuke was, but quickly imagined out a scenario in which he'd knock on Sasuke's door and the other would tell him to go to sleep and shut the door in his face. Besides, he was probably still talking to Juugo or something…

Naruto hummed a senseless tune as he missed the keyhole a few times, finally jabbing it in the right way and turning the lock. He swung the door open and stuffed the key back in his pocket before swatting at the lights, rising them just enough so that he could move around.

Naruto yawned and headed towards his dresser, rubbing his eye as he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste so that he could finally go to bed. Turning so that he could run to the showers, he squeaked and dropped his items.

"What the fuck! How'd you-"

"A girl knows her ways," Karin said, narrowing her eyes. She had dragged the chair from Naruto's desk and into the direct center of his room. She sat with her arms and legs crossed, sending him a condescending look.

"Uh…" Naruto swallowed roughly. "Why are you here? And how-"

"I'll ask the questions!" Karin yelled, jumping out of her seat so that the chair flew back a bit.

Naruto screamed, shielding himself from her. "Kami, help me!" He wrapped both of his arms around his midsection as Karin closed in on him, protecting himself from any punches. He'd seen just a fraction of her strength in conditioning this morning… she seemed to be no weaker than Sakura, but maybe just a tad bit more scary.

"Now," Karin slowly raised her hand to poke her glasses higher up on her nose. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you're going to answer them all. You ready?"

Naruto wondered if she would treat him the same way she treated Suigetsu if he didn't. "Yes…" he said weakly.

* * *

><p>AN: Shit gets real when the girls are involved. This is a pretty calm point in the story, wouldn't you say? By the way, I really am truly thankful for each and every sort of feedback you guys leave me, so let me know what you think and until next time. :)


	25. Rough Houses

Chapter 24: Rough Houses

* * *

><p>Sasuke reached the table, impatient to get Tenten away so that he'd have a chance to talk to Karin.<p>

"Karin," he said. "I need to talk to you."

The girls looked up from their conversation, both of them confused. Tenten bid her a goodnight as Karin stood from the table and raised her eyebrows at Sasuke.

He waited for her to _slowly _step out of the table and trail closely behind him, an obvious attempt to grate at his nerves a bit. So he took Karin's socialization time, she wasted a bit of his down time. It was an achingly similar trait that she shared with Naruto, and Sasuke pondered how he'd ever grown to tolerate either of them.

Sasuke led her to the lounge, in which he found a napping Shikamaru. He shrugged it off as a threat, knowing the boy was dead to the world. He remained standing and Karin appeared a bit irritated that he hadn't offered her to take a seat.

"Whatever," he said, reading her expression clearly. "I'm just making this quick so I can rest."

Something poked in Karin's stomach. Could this possibly be the long awaited love profession that she had dreamt about until she was twelve? Could they finally reenact a fairy tale and Sasuke would protect her from everyone and everything? This… this was what she had made voodoo dolls for, and this was worth all of the pain when Suigetsu had burned her raggedy Sasuke doll with dirt stuck in its hair.

Sasuke was looking at her oddly, both of his hands in his pockets. "You should know that I'm with Naruto," he deadpanned, but blinked soon after. "As in. Naruto is my partner." Kami, he was thankful for that glazed look in her eyes. He tapped her roughly on the shoulder and tried again. "I'm in a relationship with Naruto."

Karin looked at him in shock, her glasses falling halfway down her nose. "A romantic one? You and…" Karin sagged a bit. Actually, she wasn't all that surprised. All of that following each other around propaganda… those gazes… the jokes Kakashi and Tsunade had mades sometimes… some of those conversations she'd overheard…

"…why do you never listen to me?" Sasuke grumbled. "Whatever. I don't care what you think."

Karin watched numbly as Sasuke left the lounge, presumably heading up towards his own room. He was kind of moody today, Karin noted.

Maybe, in an alternate universe, she would have felt jealous. She would have envied Naruto for receiving Sasuke's affections and learning his deepest secrets. She would have wanted _in _on something that so rarely came by. But Karin couldn't deny or ignore the protective instinct that washed over her, the dire need to protect her Sasuke from any future harm. The more she thought about it, the more she knew she would have to pass on Itachi's will. Sasuke sure wouldn't; it was one of the very few times in which Itachi hadn't been around to hover over him, and Karin knew that Sasuke would revel in the freedom. She would have to take Itachi's place since none of her lazy teammates would, and Naruto needed to know what he was getting himself into.

So she poked her glasses higher upon her nose and woke up one grumpy Shikamaru, throwing away the thoughts of meeting back up with Tenten.

* * *

><p>Karin somehow managed to look down at him though she stood a head shorter than him. Naruto distantly wondered if he should have put his hands up.<p>

All of a sudden, he was actually looking up at her. Karin had taken a fistful of his shirt and shoved him into the seat she had stood out of. He rolled back slightly, coming to a gentle stop when the chair hit the foot of his bed.

Naruto swallowed roughly when she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. He knew that he had the advantage over her already, being larger than her. But Naruto knew to never, ever underestimate the power of a woman - Sakura and Tsunade had beaten that into him years ago, and he already knew better than to strike back. Karin was petite and curvy, but she possessed the will and strength to beat Suigetsu within an inch of his life. Frankly, Naruto knew better than to mess with her of all the girls.

"Uh," he started, giving her a once over to make sure that she wasn't carrying any weapons. "What are you-"

"How much do you weigh!" Karin got in his face again, nostrils flared and eyes wide.

Naruto jumped. "I-I don't know!" He hoped she didn't hit him.

She growled low in her throat, righting herself so that she could put her hands on her hips. "Are you sure that you don't know?"

"Yeah," Naruto grumbled, scrutinizing her from where he sat. "Besides, it's probably all over the place."

"Fluctuating," she corrected. It reminded him of Sasuke. He had probably rubbed the habit off on her.

He grunted, straightening in his seat a bit. A tiny bit of the aggression she had held before had dissipated, and he finally felt a bit more at ease with Karin in the room. "Why exactly are you here? Why-"

Karin glared at him again, silencing him. She crossed her arms and pressed her lips together. "Haven't you already figured it out yet?" she asked.

"Huh?" Naruto was caught slightly off guard.

"Slow," Karin called him. It reminded him of Sasuke again, and it only made sense. Traveling together for some odd years would do that to them, he supposed; a bit of Sasuke's snarky mouth would rub off on her, and Karin's attentiveness would rub off on him.

"I'm here to give you a warning," she continued, observing him with a calculating stare.

A lightbulb went off inside of Naruto's head. _Oh. _Well, why hadn't she just come out and _said _it? Subtlety was like a different language to him. He was used to the bluntness of his friends around him, and vice versa.

Naruto's eyes bulged and the lightbulb inside of his head broke from its thin string and crashed to the floor. Was Karin here to roughen him up? Was this like what he'd seen in some of Jiraiya's more dramatic assortment of books?

Naruto held his hands up in a surrendering motion, eyeing her warily. This was unnecessary, he thought, and he wanted to go talk to Sakura. "Hey, if this is about-"

"It is about Sasuke," she interrupted. "So you're not getting away."

He frowned and placed his hands back on top of his lap. Karin smoothed the front of her shirt down and used her index and middle finger to roughly push Naruto's jaw up so that he had a rather intimidating view of her.

"Listen to me," she said firmly. "For the ten years that I've known Sasuke, I've inevitably seen him change in more ways than you could possibly imagine. I have been with him through multiple things, and Itachi and I made sure his well being…"

Naruto's brow furrowed as she trailed off and swallowed roughly. For a fleeting moment, he emphasized with her. He had a hard time planning his speeches out, too.

"I know he asked you to watch his back," she continued. Naruto thought back to the fuzzy night in which Itachi had brazenly ordered him to protect Sasuke alongside him. The deal had suddenly taken a turn after the most recent events, though, and it seemed like Sasuke had taken him as the ugly duckling under his wing. Again. "And I expect you to keep true to that promise."

Naruto grunted lowly. "I don't ever break my promises."

"I see that you haven't yet."

Naruto relaxed slightly once she took a small step further away from him. She was… obviously attempting to collect herself. Though Naruto was terrible at reading the atmosphere and, more specifically, _girls_ - she could have been sorting through any kind of emotion. His best guesses were anger, sadness, happiness… maybe she just had some bad food and had a stomachache. It all looked the damn same to him, and he couldn't analyze for shit. Naruto was thankful enough that Sasuke was an extremely blunt person; he communicated best with and understood the other. Things left unsaid were lost to him.

"Itachi and I have watched over him for_ so long_," Karin's voice was thick and unwavering, though her eyes slightly moistened behind her glasses.

Naruto waited for her to continue, but when she lowered her head so that her hair covered her face, his eyes widened. He jutted a hand out to comfort her. _Shit! _he thought.

Karin reached her hand to her face and removed her glasses from the bridge of her nose, lowering them to her shirt so that she could clean the lenses. Naruto watched the outline of her thumb through the hem of her shirt as she rubbed it over one of the lenses, his throat tight.

"Don't cry," he smiled weakly, though he knew Karin couldn't see him through the curtain of her hair. "I promise I'll-"

Karin's elbow jerked and the back of his chair slammed against the footboard of his bed, jostling it lightly. He sucked in a breath when he felt something cold and sharp press against the soft skin on the right side of his throat.

Naruto stared into Karin's _dry _and dark eyes, then glanced down to the piece of plastic in her hand. It went lower, and… lenses? Karin had a hidden _blade_ in her glasses?

"You hurt him and the blade goes a lot deeper," she warned. "He doesn't need this distraction right now, but of course you butt in."

Naruto winced and nodded as best as he could with a blade against his throat. "It's not like I want to hurt him! I don't!"

Karin pushed him slightly again, her sharp eyes unfocused. "Do you understand or not?"

"I got it," Naruto stuttered. "Promise."

Karin narrowed her eyes shoved him again for good measure. She backed away from him and all of the previous tension in the room evaporated, leaving him with a cold sweat on the back of his neck and a slight indent on his neck from what he could feel with his fingers. The front legs of his chair hit the ground.

Naruto watched Karin as she cleaned her glasses for real and slid the cover over her hidden blade, tucking it tightly before putting them back on. Before, it was almost as if she couldn't see him at all; he knew it must have been blurry without the glasses, but the look in her eyes was dull and cruel.

He sat back slightly in the chair and tucked a foot under his other leg, spinning gently. "That's awesome. Why do you have that?"

"Because I do," Karin replied nonchalantly, turning away from him and setting a hand on the doorknob.

Naruto frowned. He'd thought she would stay around and they could have a little awkward boyfriend's-friend bonding.

"By the way," she called. "I _don't _cry." Karin yanked the door open wide and moved to step out.

"Wait!" Naruto called, scrambling out of his seat. She turned to him, slightly irritated.

"How…" Naruto grinned slightly, motioning to the door. "How'd you get in? I always make sure I lock it."

Karin quirked her lips and cast a thoughtful glance to the ceiling, producing a more mischievous atmosphere. "Well, if you really must know…"

* * *

><p>Naruto stood in front of a barely familiar door, his hand already scratching the back of his head. After Karin had shown him some pretty damn cool tricks, she'd left and he had run to brush his teeth and pee before Sakura could knock it out of him. He was <em>ready <em>for this, Naruto told himself.

Naruto knocked a few times on the door, hoping that Sakura would still be awake. He couldn't tell if the light inside of her room was on or not, since the hallway lights obstructed his view.

He waited a few moments, and then the doorknob turned and the door opened slowly. At least Sakura looked as if he hadn't woken her up, dressed in a baggy gray T-shirt and her pink sleeping shorts.

"Naruto?" she asked, using a hand to rub at her eye.

He grinned down at her and pushed himself into her room. Naruto glanced around at how neat she seemed to keep it, a towel neatly folded on top of her dresser. He didn't know how she'd managed to get such girly bed sheets, but Sakura had always been resourceful.

"Why don't you come in," she grumbled, shutting the door behind her and glowering at him. "What is it? We have to be up early."

Naruto lost some of the force of his grin, moving to sit on the chair at her desk. "It's important."

"Scale?" she asked promptly, moving to lean her hip on the desk.

Naruto stroked his chin. "Well, nobody's dying, so a four out of five."

She tilted her head. "What could it be that's so important? I hope you're not pulling my leg, Naruto."

"I'm _not," _he whined. "I'm being serious." Now that he'd told Shikamaru about Sasuke with a heavy dose of awkwardness, he had a vague idea of what to say now. He knew he'd get all tongue tied, like he usually did, and Sakura would be confused about what he was trying to say, but it would come out nonetheless.

Sakura lifted her knee and nudged him in the thigh, urging him on. Naruto stared at her dainty foot as it rested back on the ground.

"Eh…" he started. "I want you to know 'cause you're one of my closest friends, Sakura."

She frowned, reaching a hand out to pet his hair. It was calming, though he really preferred a touch like this to be from Sasuke only. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had the tendency to ruffle his hair; he found caresses and pets to be more intimate, and it was appreciated from Sakura.

Naruto continued once she dropped her hand. He curled his toes inside of his socks and poked at the floor with them. "Uh, well, you used to be really mean to me, and you still kinda are…" he grumbled and trailed off, getting distracted and glancing to the side. Sakura gave him a nice roughing up more often than she offered him affection and some heartfelt conversations. But she really was caring when he didn't provoke her.

"But I…" he patted at the back of his neck, willing himself not to blush as he felt her gaze on him.

"You're not trying to ask me out again, are you?" Sakura asked softly. In the past, she usually would have been a bit more aggressive about his advances; but he had already told her it was a four out of five on their scale that they had made up when they were twelve.

"What? No!" He denied, a bit more loudly than he'd meant to. "Uh, I'm just telling you…"

Sakura tilted her head again.

"Sasuke and me, we, uh… we're together," he finished, blowing out a quiet sigh. It was just as nerve wracking as telling Shikamaru was. Naruto was glad that he hadn't broken out into a sweat and warily eyed his friend.

"What?" Sakura said, looking genuinely confused. She used her index fingers to rub at her ears. "Naruto, stop mumbling! I can't hear you!"

"Oh," Naruto said, the jitters returning to him. He gave her a tight-lipped smile and raised his voice. "Sasuke and me, we're together!" He said with more confidence than he had the first two times.

Sakura stared at him, blinking owlishly. "What?"

"You really didn't hear that?" Naruto frowned a bit. Did she need to get her hearing checked? "Well. _Sas-" _

"I heard you, Naruto!" a vein popped out in her forehead as she began to get truly annoyed. "First of all, it's Sasuke and _I, _you dumbass!"

"Hey!" he defended, a hurt look washing over his face. "I seriously just come out to you and you're al-"

"Second of all, how long have you been together?" her voice took on a scolding tone and she bent over slightly to glare in his face.

"Uh…" He glanced down at the fist curling by Sakura's side. Naruto thought back to that evening, trying to remember a specific date, though it was a habit of his not to check it. He saw Sasuke and a dead body. He and Sasuke in a tree. Oh, man, Naruto still remembered hitting his balls really damn hard on that branch. An evening, chasing an official, and Sasuke was all he remembered, though he knew it hadn't been too long. "Like, a few days?"

Sakura threw all of her weight into the punch she delivered to Naruto's gut, pushing him back a bit in the chair. He groaned and keeled over, clutching his stomach and wondering if he was going to throw up right after he brushed his teeth. Hot pain bloomed in all of his torso and he wondered where Sakura had even punched him in the first place. This one was going to bruise quickly, and he knew it would be a nasty one that would stick around for a long while.

"What…" he grunted, gritting his teeth to try to distract himself from the fresh pain in his gut. "Was that for?"

"For not telling me sooner," Sakura snapped. "And forgetting your own anniversary. You'd better ask Sasuke so you can mark it down on the calendar, Naruto. This is one thing you can't half-ass."

He grimaced as the pain turned into a throbbing one, leaning back in the chair and throwing his head back. "Why'd you have to hit me… this was supposed to be happy…"

"It is happy," Sakura scolded. "But you kept it from me for too long. Poor Sasuke…"

"Why does everyone keep saying that," Naruto mumbled. "Sorry for not runnin' to tell you like five minutes after it all happened," he added, a bit of sarcasm dripping into his voice.

She harrumphed and crossed her arms, eyeing him with a look that was all too judgmental. "If you want to make it up, you have to tell me everything. _Everything." _

Naruto glanced up at her and forced a watery smile, something akin to a freezing shiver of fear traveling down his neck. "What happened to p-"

"Just one thing first," Sakura touched her finger to her chin. "I'm not very surprised, but I need to know this. Naruto, are you gay?"

"Eh?" He jumped in his chair a bit, shocked that she would be so straightforward. "All of that, and now this?"

"Just answer the question."

"Uh," he picked at the drawstring of his sweatpants, twisting his lips to the side. After all, he hadn't really thought about it. Moving so freely back and forth between his groups… he spent a lot of time by himself, but had never delved so deep into his own mind.

All that Naruto really knew was that love was all the same in the end, and he would accept any version of it that he could get in a world like this. He had heard of discrimination against people like… well, himself, he guessed, and he couldn't understand _why _for any amount of safety in the wild. Why did he have to worry about what others thought of him so often? This was Naruto's life, and he'd obsess over some sarcastic asshole if he wanted to.

Now that he thought about it, it still _was _a confusing question. Naruto still appreciated the girls' figures, and his body temperature still spiked a bit at the thought of seeing a woman naked. But there was no denying that his eyes had stuck on masculine figures for a few moments too long in the past, and that he'd give Sasuke a thorough once over when he wasn't looking. It wasn't like he had anyone else to experiment with, anyway, and he didn't understand why he was so quick to be labelled. Naruto figured he would eventually find out _what _he was, but he frankly didn't understand why it was such a big deal.

"No. I mean… I still think you're c-"

Naruto was silenced by a poke to the site of his injury, biting his tongue to hold back a whimper. "Geez… it's a little hard to tell, okay? I like one guy and you think I'm gay… just gimme some time."

Sakura sent him an unimpressed look, walking over to her dresser and yanking open a drawer. "We'll have to get you further educated on this, Naruto. You can't just jump into a relationship with Sasuke and expect everything to work out perfectly."

"I know it won't," he said quickly. "And I didn't jump into it. Maybe you didn't notice, but… it was kind of brewing already. And then everything blew up."

Naruto couldn't help but notice that Sakura's conversation was… jumping all over the place. Was she anxious about something? Her movements were a bit jerky as she slid the drawer to her dresser shut and moved back to him, setting a travel-sized first aid kit on the desk. He peered up into her face, but her eyes were cast down on the kit and she wasn't displaying any sort of expression.

Naruto rolled his shirt up automatically, watching as she screwed the cap to a bruise ointment off and placed it between her pinky and ring finger. Sakura frowned as she gently patted it on the area right below his ribs. It still burned.

He frowned. "Are you okay with it?" he asked, growing a bit nervous. Naruto had never pegged her as the phobic type, but he guessed that no matter how nice and understanding a person was, they had their limits of empathy.

"Of course I am," she halfheartedly scoffed, moving to tape the gauze over his forming bruise. "I just…"

Naruto looked at her expectantly, though she kept her eyes glued to her hands. "You've never even had a girlfriend before, Naruto. I don't want you to walk into this…" she pressed her hand firmly against his side. "And get disappointed. Naruto, I'm sure you know what it feels like to get your hopes up and turn only to get let down completely."

Sakura raised her head, a frown set deep in her features. She reached out and grabbed either of his cheeks between two fingers, pulling them apart so he was forced to grimace. Naruto started to protest, but she pressed her palms against his cheeks and pulled him into a tight hug, her arms wrapped around his neck. "Don't grow up without us."

Naruto's hands were still on his knees. He was a little more than surprised by the turn of Sakura's mood, but he guessed it was only expected from her. He wrapped his arms gently around her back, rubbing his hand up and down her shoulder calmly.

"You're still a baby," she said softly, her jaw moving awkwardly against his neck. She shifted to squeeze him a bit tighter.

"Don't cry?"

"I'm _not," _Sakura insisted. "But I'm happy for you, Naruto. I really am. I just don't want you to get _hurt_-"

"You've never had a boyfriend, either," Naruto pointed out. "And Sasuke's a lot nicer than you think he is."

"I know that," she grumbled. "You just… need to know. You need to know how everything works."

"Yeah."

"Don't be mean to Sasuke."

"How can you say that? He's the one that's mean to me-"

"He has to deal with you now, Naruto," Sakura teased. "Don't think I haven't noticed that you're not in your room sometimes."

Naruto grumbled and stopped rubbing her back. "I thought you were gonna move out, Sak'ra. I always have to stay around when you shower."

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Sakura scolded. "Especially now…" she tensed up a bit.

She pulled back from him, still holding him by the shoulders. Her face was completely blank. "I think we need to have a talk."

Naruto's lips parted a bit and he stared at her. The broken lightbulb in his mind flickered weakly and he flushed deeply, everything from the tips of his ears to the back of his neck burning. "Sakura, no! I-"

She giggled that giggle she did when they were little, when she stole his building blocks that one time. "I'm just kidding, Naruto," she said.

Naruto sighed grumpily, scowling as he waited for the blood to leave his face. Damn Sakura. This was why he didn't hang out with her more often, because she liked to tease him a lot.

"I like your little pouch of fat," she said pleasantly, poking at his navel.

"That's my pants!" Naruto smoothed out the wrinkle in them. "See?"

"Mhm," Sakura mocked, standing up and putting her first aid kit away. She spun him in the chair gently for a few moments.

"You know, uh, I'm only telling you and Shika for a reason," Naruto said. "So if you could keep it on the down low, that'd be great."

Sakura stopped spinning him and he frowned. "Did you really think I was gonna take it as a piece of hot gossip?" she asked, looking slightly offended. "A relationship that isn't mine is definitely not something I'd blurt out to Ino. Do I really act like that all the time?"

Naruto put his hands up, shaking his head quickly. "No, not at all! It was just a reminder. I told Shika the same thing, too."

Sakura sent him a small smile. "So what'd Sasuke say about telling me? He's obviously not too fond of me, you know. I'd guess that he was against it."

"He doesn't hate you," Naruto said quickly. "Actually, Sasuke didn't wanna tell anyone at all. He just, ah, keeps to himself."

Sakura looked like she didn't believe him, but cast the ceiling a thoughtful glance. "Alright. I promise not to even say a _word _about it."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks."

He gingerly touched at the gauze on his stomach. The whole area where Sakura had punched him felt hot, and he knew it was the blood rising to his skin to form a bruise. What color would it be this time? Blue and yellow?

"You know," Naruto began. "If you really wanna try at a boyfriend, Lee has liked you since forever."

"I'm well aware of that," she replied calmly. "But I'm not thinking about that right now."

He pursed his lips, feeling a pang of pity for Lee. He'd had a crush on Sakura since just about when they were still in diapers. He could hardly even imagine just how genuinely elated Lee would be to even score a few minutes of bonding time with Sakura, and it really would be touching to watch that happen.

"So," Sakura seated herself on her bed, bouncing on it a couple of times. "Where are you gonna start?"

Naruto groaned and flushed slightly, twirling in the chair to hide his face from Sakura. What a blunt changing of the subject, he thought.

"Kami," he grumbled, scratching at the nape of his neck and staring at the foot he'd tucked next to his knee.

So much for hanging out with Sasuke tonight.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Naruto awoke to a loud banging on the door and a buzzing in his ear. He groaned and rolled around in his bed a couple of times, trying to savor the softness and warmth of his blankets. He threw an arm out to turn the alarm off, but since he hadn't been looking, it fell off of the bedside table and crashed onto the floor.<p>

Well, at least it stopped beeping. Maybe it even stopped working. Naruto lifted his head from his pillow and was greeted by the sight of the alarm clock with a few of its pieces missing and popping out.

He stumbled out of bed, tripping over his blankets, and winced as soon as he took his first step. It seemed like his whole body was unbelievably sore and tense. He grunted as he could hardly make his fingertips touch his toes (barely even his knees) and wobbled towards the door, yanking it open.

A soft smile came about Sakura's cheeks, and she tilted her head. "Good morning."

Naruto hunched his shoulders. "Time is it?"

Sakura reached forward and roughly pushed his door the rest of the way opening, coming inside only to blankly stare at his broken alarm on the ground. "Well… I guess it's somewhere around seven."

Naruto stretched his arms above his head, moaning in agony as all of the muscles in them protested.

"How can you be that sore?" Sakura commented, coming over him and staring at his arm. She lifted a hand up to poke at his tricep, and he shied away from her finger, holding the spot on his arm gingerly.

"That _hurt!" _ he complained. Naruto moved away from her as she seemed fixated to keep on poking at the sore parts in his arms, tucking his shoulders closer to his ears as she moved on to poking at his stomach.

Sakura poked at his side, a smiling playfully. "You're so cute, Naruto. Look at all of your baby fat."

"Stop it, dammit!" he grumbled, grabbing at her thin wrist and flicking it back towards her.

She laughed. "Come on, get ready for breakfast. We'll see if we can get you a new alarm."

Naruto glared at her back as she headed towards his door, casting a knowing grin over her shoulder before she left. He grumbled to himself all throughout tripping out of his boxers and into his jumpsuit (which he should probably wash soon) and jamming his feet in his socks and into his boots. It was painful to bend over as his sides and hamstrings protested, and when he walked, his calves and arms pulled stiffly. Naruto knew the only way to get rid of the soreness was to use the muscles over and over again, but barely being able to move didn't always seem like it was worth it.

He found Sakura leaning against the wall outside of the door, and she pushed off of it when he stepped out. They went down to breakfast together, though he refrained from looking at her. Sakura kept sending him furtive and teasing glances, nudging him in the side as they reached the lobby. Naruto hugged the area she'd punched last night as they walked towards their table, keeping his head relatively low. He could see Sakura waggling her eyebrows suggestively as Sasuke's head came into view, turned to Kiba as he gestured wildly about something.

He was just about to tell Sakura to knock it off when they got within a few feet of the table. She acted as if they hadn't been walking together in the first place, diving off into her signature spot with the rest of the girls.

Naruto gingerly lowered himself onto the bench, sitting stiffly. He glanced towards Shikamaru, who hadn't even given him so much as a glance when he arrived. Another look the other way proved Sakura to be deeply interested in a conversation with Karin, and Juugo sat silently on the other side of Sasuke.

Sasuke turned towards him, giving him a scrutinizing stare. "What's wrong with you?"

"Good morning to you too," he grumbled. "I'm sore, and a certain someone used me as a punching bag."

The other raised his eyebrow. "Did they now? Tell them I said thank you."

Naruto kicked his shin under the table, earning an irritated grunt. "Ass. I'm gonna have the bruise the size of a head."

Sasuke rested his chin on his hands, humming idly. "Who was it?"

He grinned a bit nervously and tapped his thumb on the table. "I'll fill you in later, okay?"

"Fine," Sasuke agreed. He moved a hand under the table to rest on Naruto's lower thigh, squeezing lightly. "It'll go away if you stretch it all out."

"No, it won't," Naruto scoffed. "And how are you not sore at all?"

Sasuke didn't look impressed at all. "Because I stretched properly."

"I don't see how that fixes anything!" Naruto argued. "Your muscles are still gonna be sore no matter how much you stretch them."

"I'm leaning towards more you didn't cool down," the other noted.

"Well…" Naruto glared at the table. "Whatever. I don't see why you're not sore." Naruto supposed that there was a great possibility that Sasuke was just bluffing that he wasn't sore.

"Just a bit," he admitted. "But I think that you should do cool down stretches after conditioning."

"Yeah?" Naruto bounced the leg Sasuke's hand was on. "Our officer didn't take us through those."

Kiba uncaringly slid their tray of food across the table, only coming to a stop when Tenten blocked it with her hand. Naruto slightly frowned when Sasuke removed the hand on his leg to serve himself. It had definitely been a familiar and comforting touch, definitely a refreshing break from the violent ones he'd been receiving lately.

About an hour later, they were all called up to conditioning. Kiba banged on the table irately, whining and bitching that he didn't want to go. Suigetsu called out his agreement and initiated a small argument with Sasuke, leaving Naruto open to Karin's line of view.

He stuck his thumb out, giving Karin his most charming grin. Turning away from her conversation, she returned it with a suspicious glare.

Well, Naruto didn't think that mattered so much right now. Karin would warm up to him sooner or later, and he'd make sure to figure out what she found interesting so that they could hold a proper conversation in the future. Naruto hummed to himself. He really would make sure to get on good terms with her. He swore it.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Sasuke walked back to his room from a quick shower. Thankfully, Sai had made a grand decision to not be the bait of the ring and had stuck to his own wing's restroom. The last time he'd been in there, it had been physically exhausting.<p>

Dinner had been a relatively quiet affair, most of its attendants choosing to go to bed early. Sasuke hadn't had much of an appetite for anything, and had idly picked at his stiff spaghetti noodles. He had tried to ask Naruto if he'd stretched out before conditioning properly, but their conversation was short lived. Sakura had hauled him off in the excuse that she wanted to take a shower while everyone else was eating, and Sasuke had simply lowered his head.

After the initial exercises and more, he'd felt a bit more frustrated than usual with Sai and Suigetsu's antics. Sasuke wondered if he would even be able to concentrate with those two flocking around him all the time.

So now he looked forward to going to sleep a bit early and not returning to conditioning with a couple of day's rest. He fished his key out of his pocket and unlocked his door, pushing it open. Sasuke swiped at the light dial and tossed his key on his desk, turning to slam his door back closed.

With his back turned, he was startled to hear another body shifting in the room. He snapped his head around, his mind going into autopilot for defensive and disabling moves.

Naruto grinned over the long finished cup of his yogurt, having already licked the cover. He spun the cup back and forth between his fingers, his ankles crossed and hanging above the ground from his comfortable position on Sasuke's desk.

"Hi," Naruto grinned, tossing his spoon into the trash bin by his feet.

Sasuke studied him closely, a hand remaining on the door. "How did you get in?" he demanded.

"Karin taught me a little trick," he replied cheekily, leaning back against the wall.

Sasuke sighed heavily, closing the door behind him. He should have known Naruto and Karin would be a horrible mix together. "Well, forget it."

"The trick?" Naruto asked, ignoring the hostility that leaked into Sasuke's voice. "I can't forget it, but it sure is hard to do. I don't have enough hair clips for it."

The other sent him an unimpressed look, walking over and picking the empty yogurt cup up. He inspected it from the inside out. It was perfectly clean. "That's good. You shouldn't be breaking into other people's rooms."

Naruto sighed. Sasuke was in one of his moods again. "Well, Karin did it first. It's not my fault that she showed up in my room and nearly beat me up, you know."

"What?"

"She had a man to man talk with me," Naruto mused, swinging his feet. He began to say something, but stuttered his way through the first syllable and started a new sentence. "Has she always had a blade in her glasses?"

Sasuke practically threw himself into his desk chair, folding his legs and resting his hands on top of his ankles. His shoulder pressed against Naruto's thigh. He looked at Naruto like he had grown another eye in the middle of his forehead. "What in the _world _are you talking about?"

Naruto frowned and broke their gaze to stare at his hands briefly. "Must be her new weapon. The ear thing comes off on her glasses and there's a rough blade under it."

Sasuke tilted his head a the inadequate description. "What, like a dagger?"

"I guess," Naruto said, looking at Sasuke. He really felt like he was missing something, and the feeling kept nagging him at the back of his mind.

"Hn," Sasuke said, tucking his foot into his thigh and resting the other on the ground to spin himself absently. They sat in silence for a while, relaxed in each other's presence.

"Is Sai still alive?" Naruto asked, reaching his hand out to run a finger through Sasuke's hair. He really felt like showering affection on the other, and it was probably an instinct; due to the amount of roughing up Naruto had taken this week, he felt that he could only retaliate by giving Sasuke a few sloppy grandmother kisses and attempting to hold his hand.

Sasuke glanced up at him, letting Naruto thread the rest of his fingers into his hair. He closed his eyes when Naruto ran gentle circles into his scalp, enjoying the gentle pull of his hair when Naruto detangled his warm hand from it. "I wish he wasn't," Sasuke murmured, frowning when Naruto used his hair to make him look up.

"Don't say that," the other scolded. His hand returned to petting at Sasuke's hair and gently tugging on the pieces of hair framing his face. "I'm going to laugh the day Sai becomes your officer or something."

Sasuke didn't reply, instead choosing to give Naruto a contemplative stare. His eyes didn't hold anything in particular, just a bit of affection and warmth. Naruto offered him a small quirk of his lips, lowering his hand to lightly tug at the top of Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke leant up and kissed him softly, placing his hand on his knee. It took Naruto a second to kiss him back, still a bit shocked that they had really come this far. In the past, he'd only thought about kissing Sasuke a handful of times, and all of those times his face had nearly boiled itself off and he'd had to force himself to stop.

He broke the kiss, keeping Sasuke in place with hands on either of his cheeks. He stared into Sasuke's dark eyes as a sudden wave of emotion rolled over him. Naruto didn't think that he could ever put into words just how lucky he felt to share this undoubtedly mutual feeling with Sasuke, and how thrilling it felt to express that feeling. He pressed his lips against Sasuke's again, holding them for a few seconds before Sasuke quietly sighed through his nose and sucked on his bottom lip. Naruto pressed a series of open-mouthed kisses to the corners of Sasuke's lips before opening his mouth to welcome the other's tongue, his thumbs roving over his cheeks and ears.

Sasuke stood as their kiss deepened, leveling their heads and pressing his tongue harder against Naruto's. His fingers lightly ran over Naruto's neck before scratching at the baby hairs on the nape of his neck. He pulled away only to lay a few kisses on Naruto's collarbone, working his way up until he could flick his tongue at a tan earlobe, taking it into his mouth and nibbling gently. It all went straight to his groin. Naruto shuddered and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist, pulling him closer as Sasuke sucked at the side of his neck.

He yanked Sasuke's face back to his as his other hand rested on Naruto's knee, massaging and slowly moving his hands to his lower thighs. The kiss strengthened in ferocity as he held in a groan, pulling at Sasuke's hair as saliva began to collect on their lips. Sasuke pulled away to suck at where his neck and shoulder met, and this time he did groan quietly. He bit his lip as Sasuke bit lightly at the spot, sucking until it became almost painful. All the while, his hands had been traveling higher up Naruto's thighs.

Naruto paused in his caressing Sasuke's neck as his hand became dangerously close to the growing hardness in his pants.

He sighed as Sasuke's lips trailed up and down his neck. Naruto didn't want to take this too far to the point that Sasuke and he became uncomfortable. Maybe they should stay in grey territory before they ventured into lands they didn't know. Of course, he wouldn't mind if a new problem of his got some attention, but he valued Sasuke's comfort more than his own pleasure.

He turned his lips to Sasuke's ear. "We should stop before we get too excited," he murmured, the meaning hanging in the air between them.

Sasuke removed his hand from his neck, placing it on his own thigh. His hand squeezed soothingly over Naruto's. "Should we?"

"I dunno," Naruto whispered back. "Are you sure? Like, are you okay with this?"

Sasuke raised his eyes, filled with lust and certainty. "Yes."

"'Kay," he replied, crossing his ankles behind Sasuke's legs. He grunted as Sasuke ran a firm hand over the bulge in his pants, smashing their lips back together in bruising force.

Naruto closed his eyes, his hands rubbing over the planed of Sasuke's sides and hips. He dipped them under his shirt, using his thumbs to stroke at the hipbones and taut abdomen he found there. As his hands went higher and over the muscles there, he worked Sasuke's shirt off, tossing it somewhere to the side. He couldn't believe that he had Sasuke burrowed in between his legs and palming slowly at his hard on through his pants. It almost felt as if he were dreaming, his body temperature spiking unbelievably at the friction his sweats caused under Sasuke's hand.

Naruto let out a short, broken moan, feeling pre-cum begin to leak from himself and drip on his thigh. He boldly grabbed a handful of Sasuke's ass and broke the kiss briefly to glance down at the tent in the other's pants, biting his lip. Sasuke sighed against his forehead when he groped at his erection through his pants, running his hand along the length and pressing hot kisses against his neck. He bucked gently into Naruto's touch. Sasuke's hand on him squeezed lightly, causing him to grunt and yank their hips flush against each other.

He gasped sharply, kneading his hands on Sasuke's firm ass as they grinded tentatively against one another. This was new, and it was _good,_ all of it. The glorious friction, the expanse of a pale torso in front of him, Sasuke's hot breaths in his ear. Naruto raised his eyes back to Sasuke's and, as soon as they connected, a rush of understanding flowed between them and he initiated another rough kiss. Sasuke's hand dove into his pants and gave him a couple of friendly strokes, his hands hurrying to his hips so that he could yank the sweatpants down. Naruto aided him by raising his hips and scooting closer to the edge of the desk, planting a foot on the ground for leverage.

"Fuck," he murmured as the cool air hit his bare cock, making a shiver run down his spine.

Sasuke rested his forehead on his shoulder, blocking his view of his hand at work. Sasuke's warm hand wrapped around the shaft and his thumb passed over the head of his cock, slowly pulling his foreskin down. Naruto moved his head so that he could watch Sasuke's pale hand work over him, speeding up slightly and twisting his wrist as he got to the head.

He moaned in approval when Sasuke dug his thumb into the slit at his head, flicking there and spreading the pre-cum around. Naruto grimaced in pleasure and hooked a finger inside the other's waistband, pulling at it lightly and peeking inside at the black curls. Sasuke's panting filled his ear as he pushed his pants down, letting his erection spring free. Naruto's lips parted at the sight and he wrapped his hand around the base of his length, squeezing firmly and slowly stroking up. Sasuke was cut, and he was surprised that he knew how foreskin worked in general.

Naruto's hand worked quickly over the head, making Sasuke groan. "C'mere," he breathed, using a hand on his hip to press their cocks together.

Sasuke's breath hitched and he took the opportunity to push his tongue into Sasuke's mouth, licking at whatever he felt like. Moisture collected on their lips as Sasuke pressed the heads of their dicks together, his hand open wide. Naruto wrapped his hand around where Sasuke's couldn't reach and moved them in tandem. A groan spilled from Sasuke's mouth into his, their kiss frantic and heated. His foreskin felt _amazing_ moving against another man's cock.

Naruto moved his lips to suck at Sasuke's collarbone, his breaths escaping in pants across his necks. Pre-cum lubed their quick hands and he bucked himself in Sasuke's grasp, heavily aroused by the little grunts and moans directly into his ear. It was kind of embarrassing to already be so close, but it was _Sasuke_.

Sasuke's teeth licked over the shell of his ear, making it feel like it was on fire. He nibbled and gently tugged at his earlobe again, and below their waists, he used another finger to massage at the head of Naruto's cock.

His head thumped against the wall, groaning loudly as his hand trailed from Sasuke's ass to grip tightly at his shoulder. His bare, pale chest was flushed and covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his dark bangs just beginning to look a bit damp. Sasuke's lips were parted and swollen as he panted, his eyes fixed on his hand. His eyes flicked up for a moment when Naruto groaned loudly, intense and filled with arousal.

"Close," the other panted, pulling him into a sloppy kiss that made their hands a bit clumsier.

"Me too," Naruto murmured against his wet lips, licking at them to create a trail of saliva again.

Sasuke pressed his lips together as he moaned, closing his eyes. He involuntarily bucked his hips into their hands, gasping and flushing even more deeply.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, tilting his head back and biting his lip. "Sasuke, _coming-" _

Naruto's cock jerked in his hand as he came, letting out a loud groan and sagging against the wall. He rode his orgasm out, letting the shocks of pleasure run low in his hips. He wrenched his eyes open in time to hear and _see _Sasuke grunt and emit a shaky moan, bucking his hips into the hand he'd placed on top of their cockheads. A few drops of cum hit the table and, out of Naruto's view, Sasuke wiped his hand on the side of the desk.

Sasuke leant heavily against him as they caught their breath, sated and relaxed. His hot breaths ran over Naruto's shoulder and down his back. He was the first to move, leaning back to rub at the back of Naruto's sweaty neck. Naruto reached his hand up to run and caress at his cheek and tuck his bangs behind his ear, his skin sticky and hot.

Naruto opened his eyes and gazed into the depths of Sasuke's, a few seconds of silence passing between them. It was neither comfortable nor awkward, just a very contemplative and thoughtful one. He leant forward and kissed him softly, a pleased sigh escaping his nose. Sasuke leant off of him to pull his pants and underwear back up, now resting loosely on slender hips. He lightly bumped their foreheads together, gripping Naruto's elbow in a hand.

He offered Sasuke a small smile. "You're white as paper," Naruto commented, brushing his knuckles over a hipbone. Sasuke grunted disapprovingly and turned away from him, glancing around for the shirt Naruto had thrown off to the side.

He took the opportunity to stand up and yank his pants back on, stretching with a satisfied grin. He frowned when he caught Sasuke stuffing a wrist into the armhole of his shirt.

"Don't put it back on," Naruto protested. "I don't wanna be alone when I let this air out." He lifted his shirt to his chest and pointedly glanced down at the thick piece of gauze doing absolutely nothing to heal or cover his nasty bruise the size of a palm. Hidden under the small piece of gauze was an angry purple swell in the center and, as it flared out, it phased into an ugly yellow.

Sasuke regarded him with a slightly concerned look and dropped his own shirt back onto the desk, coming closer to him to rub lightly at the gauze. He removed the tape securing it as gently as he could, tossing the square to the side and inspecting the bump under.

"Hurts?" Sasuke asked, barely ghosting his thumb over the bruise. It almost tickled. He pressed down on it a bit, and Naruto winced.

"When you poke at it like that, yeah," he replied. "'S gonna take forever to go away."

"I'm sure you can get some ice tomorrow," Sasuke stated. "But I'm guessing you don't want to go anywhere near Sakura right now."

Naruto grinned and turned to jump heavily on Sasuke's bed, hissing when he landed right on his bruise. "You read my mind." He lifted the covers and tucked his legs under them, pressing his head and shoulders into the pillow.

"What on earth are you doing?" the other asked him dryly. "Do you think _I'm _sleeping on the floor? This is my room."

Naruto gave him an odd look, as if his intentions were obvious. He motioned to the space beside him. "No. You're sleeping next to me."

Sasuke snorted and cast his eyes to the ceiling. "Two people don't fit in a single bed, you dumbass. Why don't you go grab a pillow and your blankets from your own room."

* * *

><p>"Two people don't fit in a single bed, you dumbass," Naruto mimicked in a nasally voice, his best impression of Sasuke's.<p>

He felt Sasuke tense directly in front of them. They were both laying on their sides, facing each other. "I'm going to push you off of the bed in your sleep."

"Yeah, right," he drawled. "I _told _you it would work out. But do you ever listen to me? N-"

"There are hundreds of valid reasons for not listening to your ideas," Sasuke interrupted, his breath washing over his face.

"I'm not gonna be the one that falls off the bed and busts my ass," Naruto continued. "You're gonna fall off the bed, bust your ass, sprain your ankle, and break your dick."

Sasuke paused in his response. "Do you ever listen to yourself?"

"I can certainly hear myself."

There was a small pause, and then a small, amused huff. Sasuke relaxed back into the pillow, and Naruto envisioned him closing his eyes.

"Go to sleep."

Naruto fisted the hand tucked under his pillow, the side of his lip curling up. He reached his other hand out to play with the drawstring of Sasuke's pants, feeling at home in this proximity to Sasuke. It had been a while since they'd been like this, and the only other time was back at their very first camp when Naruto had dreamed of such bad nightmares that he'd asked to sleep next to Sasuke. It was a bit nostalgic, but he felt

"You know," Naruto began, sheepishly tugging at the string. He waited for Sasuke to tell him to be quiet, but nothing came. He wondered if the other had already fallen asleep.

"Where would we be if you hadn't made Kakashi turn back?" he murmured, resting his palm on Sasuke's hip.

He felt the other's breath pause, but quickly return back to its slow rhythm. Sasuke didn't say anything, but Naruto could feel the sharp attention that he had on him.

"It's crazy," Naruto huffed even though it wasn't funny at all. "What if you hadn't seen me at all."

He pressed his lips together and swallowed the lump forming in his throat, telling himself that this was a _happy _thing and that he'd already cried in front of Sasuke once. "I don't know where I'd be without you, Sasuke. Sometimes you seriously act like such a bad guy, but you're the one who basically taught me how to _walk _again. Do you get me? I'd be dead."

Naruto knocked his forehead against Sasuke's keeping them pressed together. Sasuke pressed a comforting hand over the one resting on his hip.

"I love you," he said, his voice quivering slightly. "So much. Don't you ever forget it."

Sasuke's hand rested on his cheek and he kissed him chastely, trying to convey his emotions through it.

"I'm not crying," Naruto said, intertwining his fingers with the ones resting on his cheek. "So don't make fun of me."

"I'm not," Sasuke mumbled. He squeezed his hand. "But I love you. Am in love with you, too. So you'd better not forget that, stupid."

Naruto snorted dryly. "What's the difference?"

He felt Sasuke lift a shoulder. "I don't know."

He left is at that, kissing Sasuke on the cheek before burrowing back into the blankets and falling asleep.

* * *

><p>AN: Sometimes there's awkward semi-undressing. Sometimes you people will get some pillow talk. Thank you for all of the feedback, and I hope you liked this chapter.


	26. Thunder Calls

Chapter 25: Thunder Calls

* * *

><p>Sasuke woke for a few drowsy moments in the morning, opening his eyes tiredly and blinking away the burn of sleep. He swallowed to soothe his dry throat, though it did nothing to help him. He glanced at the reason as to why he'd woken up in the first place and sighed.<p>

It was too warm. Combined with the layer of four blankets and Naruto's arm flung across his chest to hug him closer and the leg hugging both of his own, a light sweat had formed on the back of his neck. Sasuke grunted, slightly irritated. The other was snoring lightly in his left ear again, his other hand clutching tightly at Sasuke's head to cradle his temple against Naruto's forehead.

He kicked Naruto's leg away to throw the blankets off of them, sighing as a gush of cool air hit them from the vent above his bed. Sasuke wiped at the back and sides of his neck and wiped them on his covers, sitting up to let the air hit his bare chest. Naruto grumbled something in his sleep, having gone a few inches up with Sasuke as he sat up. He fell back onto the bed, resting on his back and hogging most of the pillow. It was an issue they had last night - Naruto would always attempt to roll on top of him, and when Sasuke pushed him away or moved back, he scored most of the pillow. In turn, Naruto had woken him up a couple of times to complain about his sheet robbery - only to hog them all to himself and attempt to use Sasuke as a mattress again.

Sasuke rested back onto the bed again, pulling a single blanket over their bodies. He turned on his side and pressed his face into Naruto's warm shoulder, gripping the inside of Naruto's elbow.

He was just about to drift off to sleep when Naruto jolted in his sleep and woke with a grunt, rudely nudging Sasuke in the face.

"Sorry," he murmured, glancing at Sasuke's irritated scowl. "Had one of those dreams where I was fallin'."

He grunted in response, studying the bruise on Naruto's stomach. It wasn't the easiest on the eyes, but it was altogether interesting to look at. He reached a hand out to lightly graze his fingers over the swell, careful as to not press too hard and make Naruto flinch.

He drifted off again like that, weakly running his thumb over Naruto's bruise.

The next time he woke up, he felt refreshed, and Naruto had once again latched onto him. Figuring that it was probably late in the morning, he pushed Naruto away from his body and stubbornly ignored the other's morning hardness.

Sasuke propped himself up on his elbow, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as his partner whined in his semi-consciousness. He was dangerously close to the end of the bed, so he scooted a bit into Naruto.

"Time is it?" Naruto grumbled, throwing a heavy arm over his chests and tugging their bodies together again. His chest was comfortably warm against Sasuke's back, and incredibly tempting to lean back into.

Sasuke wished they had the time of day to laze around in bed for a few minutes, but their peers were most likely wondering where they were. Maybe a few of them were even growing suspicious - it wasn't unlikely for them to appear together a bit late to a gathering, but in the morning in equal states of unkempt…?

He glanced to his bedside table, squinting to see the numbers on his clock. "Ten thirty."

"Really?" Naruto asked, rolling onto his stomach and resting his chin on his folded arms. He yawned widely, closing his eyes again and smiling contently. "'S early."

"Maybe a bit," Sasuke sighed, resting back on the headboard.

A few moments of comfortable, calm silence ensued. Naruto messed with the tails of his pillowcase and struggled to keep his eyes open.

"'Bout what you said last night," he started. "Wanna talk about it?"

Sasuke thought about their multiple conversations last night, tilting his head back to rest it against the wall. "Would you like to tell me about this first?" he inquired a bit monotonously, moving his hand to rest over the lump on his stomach.

Naruto grunted under his touch, a small smile forming on his face. "Oh, yeah. Sakura punched me."

"And why did she do that?"

He filled Sasuke in on the exact events of the other night, watching as Sasuke's facial expressions took sharp turns from amused, irritated, and unimpressed. He wasn't particularly fond of the girl's reaction, and he felt a slight twinge of possessiveness when he heard just how much Naruto had planned to spend time with her.

Naruto also wondered why all of the female figures in his life were overbearingly violent. He studied Sasuke's blank expression as he stared off to the side again, lost in his own thoughts for the umpteenth time.

"So…" Naruto fidgeted for a few moments, discreetly rearranging himself in his pants. Sasuke's eyes were closed, and he pulled his knees to his chest in response. "What's the difference?"

"Why don't you list your train of thoughts out," the other said blandly, resting his elbows on his knees.

Naruto frowned and peered up at Sasuke. "Don't be like that. Especially not after last night."

When the other didn't reply, he pushed himself up to lean his side against the headboard, leveling his face with Sasuke's. His features softened at the tired look on the other's face. He'd probably tired Sasuke out emotionally, what with his mini speech right before they'd fallen asleep.

"Please don't close up like that," he murmured, refraining from touching the other. "You don't have to be that way around me. I promise that you're not gonna scare me off," he chuckled a bit. "I mean, I've dealt with you this far, right? So don't hold back."

He knew Sasuke was listening to him very closely, so he continued. "And I promise that I meant every single thing I said last night, Sasuke. I'm so glad that I met you." Naruto felt that without a physical expression of just how _much _he truly meant it, his words would be rendered invalid. So he set his hand on top of Sasuke's warm one and did his best to press his fingers between each of the long and thin ones. His looked brute next to Sasuke's, shorter with his calluses a bit more prominent.

Naruto tilted his head. "How come you have small feet and big hands? It's all unproportional."

The other raised his eyebrow but didn't reply, choosing to stay on the more serious side of their conversation.

Sasuke lightly squeezed their fingers together, letting Naruto indirectly know that he understood. Naruto let out a relieved sigh and leant forward to kiss Sasuke on the temple, a few strands of his hair sticking to his lips. He'd wanted nothing other but for Sasuke to know that he'd stick with him throughout the journey ahead of him; they didn't have a definite longevity set for them, but Naruto knew that he'd want nothing more than to spend the rest of it with Sasuke.

"I think," Sasuke said softly, tilting his head towards Naruto and staring at his pajama pant stretched over his knee. "That being in love with someone and loving them are two different things because they're reserved for different people."

He sent the other an interested glance, squeezing his hand to encourage him to continue.

"It's like the way you love Sakura, and in a platonic way, I hope," Sasuke sent him a bland look. Naruto knocked their shoulders together. "You don't… revolve around her, I guess."

"What," he murmured. "Sometimes I wait for her lazy ass to get up outside her door, but most of the time it's you," Naruto sent Sasuke a pointed look. "I didn't go to training today 'cause you didn't, and I only stay at lunch if you're there. Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," Sasuke murmured, bringing their hands up and pressing his nose into the inside of Naruto's wrist. "You go out of your way for me."

He simpered at the once blank, but now softer expression on Sasuke's face. Naruto quickly moved his hand to cover the other's face, feeling a surprised intake of air and the furrowing of brows. It hadn't ever been anything else but true. Even when they'd been the barest of friends, he'd wanted to spend every waking hour by Sasuke's side - whether it be harassing him, having an actual conversation, arguing, or just merely sitting in contemplative silence.

"You're a lot better at words than I am."

"With," Sasuke corrected, pinching the loose skin between his thumb and forefinger slightly. Naruto removed his hand and Sasuke sent him a questioning look.

"Provin' me wrong again," Naruto leant over to plant an odd-fitting kiss on the other's lips, accidentally catching some of his nose in the promise. Sasuke scowled and leant away, but Naruto grabbed the side of his face and placed hard kisses on the wrinkle in his brow and along his temple.

Sasuke grumbled and pushed at his chest, pinning him back to the headboard. "_Stop _it." He wiped at his forehead.

"Sasuke," Naruto smiled.

The other sent him a disbelieving look and shook his head, removing his pinning arm from his chest. Sasuke threw his long legs over the bed and stood, granting Naruto a nice view of his slender, pale back.

And as Sasuke went searching about the room for his shirt, it was moments like these that Naruto took advantage of. If Sasuke ever witnessed the way Naruto _looked _at him when he wasn't looking himself or his back was turned, he'd surely send Naruto a firm glare and leave the room immediately. There were also moments like these where Sasuke got pretty ostentatious and took his time to flex all the muscles he could - whether it be stretching in that jumpsuit, or pretending not to see his shirt lying in the middle of the floor in favor of turning this way and that.

Even though Naruto could barely see his toned calves through the loose material of his pajama pants, he knew that they were never less than extremely easy on the eyes. Sasuke was all long legs and lean muscle, much more slender and graceful than his own build. The other really had grown a lot - Naruto remembered a time in which he'd have to tilt his head down slightly to speak with Sasuke, and now it seemed that the other had finally caught up with him. He really hoped Sasuke never grew taller than him, though, because he'd never hear the end of it. And if he did, well… Naruto would just have to take steroids or something.

Naruto drank in the sight as Sasuke bent over to pick up that dark blue shirt of his, raising his arms to tug it around his neck. The movement made the slender waist of his tense and the low-hanging pants to slip even lower, allowing a view of the thin trail of black hairs beginning just below his navel. Then it was all gone as his T-shirt covered the ghastly pale stomach, leaving Sasuke with a little more than a bad case of bedhead.

Naruto knew he probably wasn't any better, shrugging on the shirt that Sasuke had thrown in his face. He slowly rolled out of bed, slumping as he stood to go stand with Sasuke by the door.

"I wanna sleep all day," he complained.

Sasuke gave him an unamused look at he tugged the door open. "Save that for another day. You'll complain about being hungry if you do that, so we're eating now."

Just like Sasuke had predicted, the hall was empty and there was a faint buzz of water running through pipes as someone showered. He locked his door behind him and turned to Naruto. "Don't you think Sakura will be a bit curious as to where you were last night?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. I'm usually asleep whenever she tries to visit me, so…"

Sasuke watched him calmly as he rubbed drearily at his eyes, trudging along as they reached an elevator.

"That is the only night you're sleeping in my bed," he said.

Naruto turned to him and pouted. "But _Sasuke-" _

"No. That bed is not made for two people, especially one of which who sleeps like an animal."

The other continued pouting but didn't say anything, instead never taking his stare off of Sasuke.

That night, Sasuke stared into the darkness of his room as Naruto snored away happily by his side.

—

The next morning, after Sasuke's annoying nagging and pestering, Naruto was tugged off to conditioning. He took it as a punishment for staying over at Sasuke's again. Not too many of his friends had chosen to attend today, but thanks to the torturous amount of push and pull ups they'd been punished with as a result of Kiba's fooling around, he wasn't even sure he was seeing straight.

Karin had attended today's session, though a feeling in Naruto's gut told him that she attended every single day. He watched her follow through their exercises with impressive speed and endurance, never even stopping when sweat made her glasses fall off her nose. She didn't bother acknowledging him when he attempted to talk to her, though, and Naruto simply left it at that.

They had also been assigned into their tactical groups, in which Naruto was yet again reunited with Karin. She stood silently with Juugo as their names were called and assigned to existing and formed to new groups. He'd be working with Shino, Karin, and another man whose name he couldn't bother to remember - all he knew was that he was the captain figure of their little squad.

Ino had cared enough to join him in the cool down stretches that Sasuke had reminded him to do, pressing the soles of her smaller boots against his as they reached for their toes.

"What have you been up to, Naruto?" she asked, without a hint of suspicion dripping into her voice. Naruto knew then that it was nothing more than a simple and harmless question.

"Nothin' much," he said nonchalantly, stretching out the muscles in his shoulders.

It was then that Ino rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Nothing much besides causing a bunch of ruckus and nearly knocking Chouji out? If that's your definition of 'nothing much', Naruto, then I guess it is what it is."

Naruto tilted his head unappreciatively. "Kiba is a _bad_ influence on me-"

"Don't," Ino aimed her pointer finger at him, sending him a warning look. "Blame this on Kiba. You two are horrible together no matter what the situation. I don't care if Shino's the one with the bad influence, Naruto, you need to behave!"

He cringed at all of the nagging he'd received today. It just seemed to be the day of nagging today, and he hadn't even come across Sakura yet!

"Especially when you're operating under Yamato," she grumbled into her knee, leaning back to give him a condescending glare. A few pieces of Ino's hair stuck to her face and the sweat on her forehead was dewy. "Haven't you heard about him?"

"Sorry I'm not in the most recent gossip circle," he grumbled back, feeling a small twinge of irritation when he learned that there was yet another thing he hadn't been paying attention to.

"Well," Ino chided, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands. The bright afternoon sun washed her features out from his view. It wasn't necessarily hot out, but the weather was awkwardly teetering between a slight chill and gentle warmth. "He's not someone you can joke around with."

Naruto said nothing and stood, wiping his hands against each other to rid them of thin blades of grass. He did the same to his back and legs as he walked away from Ino, following another small group in his platoon that were heading back inside as well.

Ino's voice chided right into his ear again. "You could at least offer to help a girl up."

He tilted his head. "I thought you said you could take care of yourself."

She huffed and leant away from him, most likely remembering what she'd said not too long ago. "Well, just 'cause you're a guy, that doesn't mean I wouldn't help you up either."

Acknowledging her comment, Naruto grunted and lifted the hidden door under a smooth patch of grass. He held it open for Ino, sighing as the conditioned air hit his overheated skin. She jumped in and Naruto followed right after, almost shoving her out of the way.

On the way down and until the intersection of the dorms, he held lighthearted chats with Ino. She filled him in on a few of the things going on around here, most importantly the major meeting for strength early tomorrow morning. Naruto probably would have never even heard about it until someone questioned him why he wasn't there after the meeting. He thanked her and they parted ways, trudging towards his own room.

Naruto hadn't been there in… a while. He only really stopped by to pick up some clothes. He spent most of his time roaming about the halls and lobby with his friends or inviting himself into Sasuke's room. Besides… Sasuke's was nicer anyway. They had nearly the exact same furniture, but in Sasuke's room, it looked richer and more inviting. Perhaps it was the fact that Naruto could actually see the footboard of the other's bed; his own was draped in dirty shirts and boxers and towels he'd forgotten to return.

Naruto picked around inside his shoe for his key and unlocked his door once he found it, finding that his room was unreasonably cold. He did some cleaning around once he shut the door, throwing snack wrappers and paper plates into the trash bin. Naruto figured that he'd reward himself with a shower once he got his chores done; maybe Sasuke could stay over and he wouldn't always be taking up the other's bed.

He made a pile of shirts that could be worn again and ones that smelled absolutely unacceptable. As Naruto tucked the re-wearable clothes away in his dresser, he thought of all the exercises and drills that he'd gone through today and wondered if he'd gained any weight. That was a question saved later for Tsunade; he'd have to bring it up with her.

Naruto tucked his few dirty clothes under his arm and headed for the elevator, kicking his feet out as he walked. The traffic around this area was at an all time low, with only a couple of people passing by every few minutes. This seemed to be the catnap time of day, or when everyone chose to relax elsewhere.

Once the ledge clicked in alliance with the floor, he made his way across the relatively quiet lobby and into the messy storage room where a few washers and driers were.

A man was waiting for his clothes to dry, but he didn't greet Naruto. He made his way over to an unoccupied washer and struggled to remember just exactly what Tsunade had tried to teach him. His socked feet nearly slid on some of the detergent covering the floor, and he quickly tossed in a few shakes of the box he found resting on the ground.

Naruto pressed the go button for his clothes to wash after a few moments of confusion and kept his back turned away from the man that hadn't greeted him. Unfortunately and fortunately, he knew that this would be a fast process; Tsunade's punishment for his acting out had been to wash countless bath towels after towels. It was gross, but he had learned something out of it nonetheless.

A few minutes later, he waited for his clothes to dry, the man who didn't greet him having left. Naruto's thoughts transitioned to a few of the funnier moments between he and Jiraiya and he chuckled to himself. As perverted as he was, he was a good guy; for the last five years, he had been documenting the state of the government as they knew it and life living outside of a Sector. The man had said something about writing it down for history, but… Naruto knew his porn books would sell better.

Naruto tugged one of his shirts out of the dryer and buried his face in it, reveling in the warmth and flowery smell of the detergent. It was a bit girly, but he didn't mind. Gathering his clothes back into his arms, he hoped he didn't trip on anything or anyone as he headed back down to his room.

He ended up throwing the clothes on his bed and choosing a shower over his responsibilities. It was a long and thankfully undisturbed one, of which he was thankful for.

A few hours later at dinner, he sat just a little too close to Sasuke to be considered friendly, but the bench was crowded, anyway. Sasuke told him under his breath that he was being forced to work beside Sai, Suigetsu, and another man by the name of Torao. Naruto smiled and said that Sasuke had been put in the group for a reason, and that teams were—once again—always supposed to work together. Naruto gave him a lecture on how teammates were supposed to best each other and encourage each other to work even harder, and how he already saw that reflecting in Sasuke. The other hunched over his food and pretended he wasn't listening, But Naruto could just tell that he was.

After that, Sakura sent him a suspicious glare from across the table, raising her eyebrows in a way Naruto knew he'd better be in his own room tonight. He slid further down into his seat and innocently played with the peas on his plate.

When the dinner inched to a sluggish end, Ino harassed the boys she was closest with to get up and relax with her in the lounge. A few others rose to join them, and others trudged away to be in their own solitude or socialize with the other members of the Center. Naruto clasped his hands under his chin and dug his nails into his hands when Sakura and Karin stayed behind to sit with Sasuke and him. They sat in a tense silence of Naruto wanting to speak to Sasuke—privately, he may add—and Sasuke enjoying the long silence between them all.

That was when a large hand fell on his shoulder and practically startled Naruto out of his pants, making him turn quickly and peer up into the grinning face of his godfather.

"Jiraiya!" He called, turning around and almost elbowing Sasuke harshly. Naruto grinned right back at the man, swatting his hand away from his shoulder.

"Quiet down," Jiraiya reprimanded, moving his hand from his shoulder to the top of his head. "Why don't we go have a talk somewhere else?"

The grin slipped right off of Naruto's face and he paled, unease washing over him. "Eh? Why not here?"

Jiraiya's lips twitched and flicked his head in the direction of the hallway between the lobby and the infirmary. Naruto turned to send Sasuke a confused look, the other giving him a slightly interested one. Sakura frowned slightly and gave him a small wave before he stood and followed Jiraiya away from the table.

"What's this about?" Naruto spoke up "Is someone hurt? Did-"

"Oh," Jiraiya interrupted and flicked a dismissing hand in his direction. "This is just a quieter area. All your little friends gathered in the lounge and it'd be too much hassle to go anywhere else."

Naruto frowned and stood a bit awkwardly where he was in the threshold of the hallway, studying the shadows covering half of Jiraiya's figure. He stuffed his fists into his pockets and leant against the wall opposite of Jiraiya.

They sat in a few moments of silence before Naruto started fidgeting, taking the pockets in and out of his pants. He glanced back into the lobby, where he saw the tables being folded back up by a few volunteers. The table he and Sasuke had been sitting at was empty now.

"It's just about time we had a talk," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms. Naruto swallowed nervously as a darker look came over the man's face. "Tsunade would have done this, but she didn't want to deal with you."

Naruto creased his eyebrows together. Was this about his parents? Because he knew now that he'd squeezed and harassed every single story Jiraiya had about them from the man. Was there something he had been skirting around, something Naruto would have never asked about?

"I mean," Jiraiya shrugged heavily, looking bored. "Don't get me wrong, but I always thought you were into girls."

Naruto paused for a second and then nearly jumped out of his skin, looking at the other man in horror. Wait, he and Sasuke had never ran over what they would say and do if someone hit the nail on the head! He was shocked for a few moments, but quickly jumped to a method he'd used all to often.

"What?" he squeaked, attempting to level out his voice. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Son," Jiraiya sighed, giving Naruto a scrutinizing look. "We can get this over with if you'd knock that shit off already."

Naruto frowned and dropped the act, hunching his shoulders over and jamming his hands back into his pockets. He let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. Did Sakura tell you?"

Jiraiya sent him an odd look. "Sakura? Just who are you telling, son?" An amused smirk made the wart on his nose dig into his cheek. "Suna accidentally asked me about you two after she… _witnessed _some activity in the early morning."

He paled. "Just how many people know now, besides you and Tsunade?"

"Kakashi and Gai."

Naruto flushed deeply as Jiraiya snickered, pressing himself further into the wall. He said nothing out of the fear that he'd stutter and his face would grow hotter. The precaution didn't help at all, though, and the moment he realized just what kind of talk Jiraiya wanted to have, his face began to tingle even more and he tried to walk away.

"Nuh-uh-uh," Jiraiya chided, hooking his finger in the collar of Naruto's shirt and dragging him back into the hallway. "You're stating here. You're going to listen all the way through because you _need _to know this, Naruto-"

"'Just like I needed to proofread your porn books?" Naruto scowled at the man and swatted his arm away, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

Jiraiya looked a bit stern when he'd interrupted in the first place, but the look was replaced with a carefree one as soon as he'd heard what Naruto had to say. "What can I say? You have a sharp eye."

Naruto grumbled to himself under his breath and wrapped his arms around his legs, bringing them closer to his body so he could rest his chin on top of his knees. "Just get it over with. It's not like I've heard this a thousand times-"

"You have heard it," Jiraiya raised his hands to compare the matters. He raised his right hand. "But you've heard the version of this talk between men and women from about five different people. Please don't tell me you thought this worked the same way between men and men."

Naruto scowled up at the other man. "Of course I didn't!" _Well_, he thought. He definitely knew. After the other night, it was proved even further that Sasuke had the equipment that every other man did.

"If you say so," said Jiraiya, glancing down at a watch that hadn't been on his wrist before. "How can I let my godson walk into a relationship without knowing how the sex works? That's blasphemy, I tell you…"

"I already know how it works," Naruto grumbled, flushing again when Jiraiya looked at him in surprise.

The look of surprise turned into the rolling of eyes. "What have I told you about lying? Anyway, kid. Yada yada, foreplay."

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and did his best to slide even lower on the wall and curl up into the tightest ball he could, squeezing his head between his knees.

"But before I start anything, I'm telling you that you _have _to be meticulous." Jiraiya carried a more serious look on his face now. "Naruto, stop that. You'd better listen to me. Both of you can get _hurt _if you don't do this right."

Naruto sobered up a bit then, begrudgingly resting his chin back onto his knees. He didn't look directly at Jiraiya, instead choosing to stare at a little moth bunny floating around on the ground.

Jiraiya grunted in approval. "Now," he said. "Once you're past all that…"

* * *

><p>After Sasuke had held a one-sided chat with Karin and Sakura in which he had spoken five words max, he excused himself to shower and relax a bit. When Naruto had been dragged off by Jiraiya, Sasuke hadn't expected it to be anything serious - Naruto just had a flair for the dramatic. He would be fine.<p>

He was unfortunate to find that Sai had chosen to shower in this wing of the building. When the shower curtain was thrown open, Sasuke _knew. _That was why he'd thrown the bottle of shampoo in his hand straight into Sai's face and yanked the curtain back closed.

After that, he sighed contently and let the hot water work out the kinks in his shoulders. His chest had felt a bit heavy for most of the day - would it be the weather or the thoughts brewing in the back of his mind, he didn't want to deal with either.

Sasuke shut off the water and dried himself off quickly, wrapping the towel around his shoulders and stepping into his boxers. At least an hour had passed already, but he didn't feel too rushed. He brushed his teeth and returned to his room, eyes heavy and stinging from being awake so long.

Sasuke noticed he'd kicked off his shoes earlier and set them neatly, side by side, next to his door. He placed his room key on the edge of his desk like he always did at night. He remade his bed, whose covers had fallen everywhere due to a certain common guest he'd always had, and he patted the corners of his pillow. Sasuke picked a few stray pieces of rock that had fallen out of his combat shoes from the carpeted floor, throwing them in the trash. They fell inside a long empty yogurt cup.

He stared at the cup before quickly standing and flicking the light completely off, leaving him in absolute darkness save for the sliver of light under his door from the hallway. Sasuke would usually dim them just above the level where they would be off.

He laid down a bit stiffly and stared into the darkness, his new angle now blocking that sliver of light away from him. Sasuke shut his eyes and willed his breathing to slow down a bit.

Right before drifting off to sleep, he had been thinking of a time when he was around the age of ten. They were all in their old camp, where things had been a plenty more simple. He had given into the demands of playing an innocent game of tag with Suigetsu and Karin. What Sasuke had failed to notice was that his brother was nowhere to be seen—he had been disappearing a lot lately, he had noted. But he always returned with firewood or game.

Sasuke growled angrily when Suigetsu managed to snatch him by the sleeve of his shirt, and ensued a squabble with Karin of whether or not it counted.

"_You didn't touch him, you touched his shirt!" Karin argued, her small fist waving in front of Suigetsu's face. The other boy was scrawny, and since it was the summer, his bruised and knobby knees peeked out from under his cargo shorts. _

"_Still counts," Suigetsu drawled. "The shirt's touchin' him, right? Why can't we just get back to the game?"_

"_Maybe you shouldn't be so serious about this whole thing," Juugo said softly, having come up from behind them. He hadn't been invited to play, but they all knew Juugo wouldn't want to either way. He got frustrated too easily and too quickly, and he didn't want to drag their fun down with his anger management issues. _

"_I don't want to play anymore," Sasuke announced, truly annoyed from all of the arguing. He turned and attempted to stomp back towards the camp._

"_Don't be a sore loser!" Suigetsu shouted, pointing at his turned back. "You always get all asshurt whenever you lose and try to cheat your way into winning! It pisses me off whenever you try to bend the rules just so you like them!" _

_Sasuke scowled when he heard the fowl use of language, knowing he could use this against Suigetsu. Itachi had spoken to him not even a day earlier about his language and the consequences should he say another cuss word. Sasuke knew he was a tattle tale, but at least he abided by the rules._

"_You're not supposed to cuss," Sasuke said tauntingly, turning so that he could send Suigetsu a superior look. "Especially over something so stupid."_

"_Don't try to cover it up!" Suigetsu called back, though he looked a bit miffed once he realized he'd cursed. He turned a deep shade of pink for a few moments before leaning back and launching himself at Sasuke, making the other boy stumble away and nearly fall on his back. _

_Sasuke glanced incredulously at Suigetsu reeling back up and popping his knuckles. Was he serious about this?_

"_You always think you're the best of us!" Suigetsu yelled again, looking a bit angrier than Sasuke thought he'd ever seen him. "But what the hell makes you better when you're such a fucking brat!"_

_When Suigetsu swung with angry tears in his eyes, Sasuke ran. Karin gasped and Juugo shifted up from his seat to try to stop him, but when Suigetsu followed right after him, they let them be._

_Sasuke ran farther and farther into the woods Itachi had told him never to go into without him, Suigetsu's footsteps becoming farther and farther behind his own. The other little boy yelled taunts and insults right behind him, calling him a chicken for running and to man up. But words couldn't explain how much he couldn't handle to see the disappointment in Itachi's eyes when he learned that Sasuke had gotten into yet another fight with Suigetsu again._

_Sasuke panted heavily and leant against the tree. He would have lasted a lot longer, but the summer sun made the thick forest humid and sticky so that his shirt already clung to his back. Vague concern welled into his mind when he listened and found that Suigetsu's footsteps had stopped completely, and he wondered if the other had gotten lost._

_Sasuke smirked and turned to where he expected Suigetsu's footsteps to start back up again, but instead he heard none. He paused when he realized that the area he'd turned to didn't seem like an area he'd ran through. He turned a different way, struggling to remember which direction he'd came from and which way he'd turned to lean on a tree. Sasuke jogged a bit deeper in the way he thought he'd come from, but found that all of the trees in this forest were near identical, and the ground under his feet was too flat and thin to hold footprints. _

_He calmed the slight stutter in his breath and assured himself that he'd find which way he came from. "Suigetsu?" he called, turning in every direction._

_Sasuke received no answer. He turned to the side and began jogging in that direction, hoping to find a clearing that he'd already run through. He stopped again and called for his friend again, slightly panicking when birds above his head flew away with his shout. Sasuke flinched when one of the black birds flew a bit too close to his head for comfort, yelling Suigetsu's name with a bit more urgency. _

"_Suigetsu!" Sasuke turned when he heard a rustle from a different direction. His eyes widened when he thought he saw a shadow that was much too large to be his friend rush by from the corner of his eye. He gasped and did the only thing he knew how to do - run. _

_Sasuke ran even though he knew the crunches behind him were his own footsteps, ran even though he knew he might have imagined the extra ones. He ran until his throat burned with the effort to drag in air and his eyes were dry from not blinking enough. But Sasuke didn't want to close his eyes, because then he couldn't see where he was going. _

_Sasuke grunted when he tripped over a near invisible tree root, falling onto his hands and knees. He panted heavily and blinked away the burning in his eyes._

_He didn't hear the crunch of footfalls in front of him because of the beating of his pulse in his ears. __  
><em>

"_What are you doing?" a familiar, deep voice asked him. Sasuke sighed in relief and tried to look up at his older brother, but a hand on top of his head stopped him. Itachi had always said that keeping his neck relaxed would help him breathe more clearly. _

_When Sasuke didn't answer, Itachi sighed. "Do you realize how far into the woods you are? You're lucky I found you, little brother."_

_Sasuke blinked at the ground below him. "Was that you?"_

"_Was what me?" his brother sounded a bit concerned. "Did you see someone?" _

"_I don't think so," he wiped his hands of dirt and shifted to sit on his knees. Sasuke looked behind him. "It might have been a tree."_

_Itachi let out an unamused and condescending grunt. "Sasuke, what were you doing?"_

_Sasuke opened his mouth and looked up at his brother, preparing to launch into the story with Suigetsu. But when he looked at Itachi, the words died in his throat, his chest filling with terror. _

_Itachi stared down at him blankly, his face stony. He had expected to look into stern and reprimanding eyes, but nonetheless curious as to why he'd been running. Instead Sasuke peered into two empty black sockets, unseeing and bland. The skin that had once been around Itachi's eyes was wrinkled slightly and Sasuke's breath left him in an attempt to drag in air for a frightened and hoarse yell. _

Sasuke sat up with a horrified intake of air, frantically pushing the sheets clinging to his body off of the bed. He breathed just as heavily as he had been back then, in that dream, and when he'd seen Itachi's gouged eyes. He opened his own to complete and engulfing darkness, his heartbeat spiking when not even the hint of light from under his door.

Sasuke felt as if a thousand bugs were crawling across his body, so he stumbled away from his bed and almost tripped on his sheets. He couldn't calm his breathing or knock off the chill on the back of his neck as if there were _someone else _inside of his room. The hairs on his arms stood up as he rushed to turn his lights on, the cold sweat all over his body uncomfortable.

Sasuke stared with wide eyes into the darkness of the room as he helplessly pushed at the dial of his light, panting when it wouldn't turn on.

Was this another dream? Did the power go out? Temari had never said anything about the power going out! Panicked, he risked turning his back to wrench his door open and slam it shut behind him, the hallway drenched in the red of an emergency light above his head. It was all too eerie and did nothing to settle the fear that had settled deep into him. Sasuke hadn't even thought of where he was going when he ran into the next wings with the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.

The hallways were still quiet, but a few men gave him odd looks when he ran past them. Sasuke didn't even think twice about the gratitude that washed over him when he realized that Naruto was too stupid to lock his door at night.

Before he turned the knob all the way, he rested his forehead against the door and attempted to calm himself down. Never once before had Sasuke been so illogical - first of all, the events in his dream hadn't even happened. When he looked up, Itachi had his eyes and they'd headed off back to camp to which Suigetsu didn't return to for another day because he'd been off sulking by himself. Suigetsu had begrudgingly apologized to him for blowing up and saying hurtful things.

Second of all, there was absolutely no way that there could have been someone else in his room. The only other time someone had been in his room, it had been Naruto, and even then he'd never felt so threatened. The only people in his room were himself and the ghosts of his memories.

Sasuke quietly opened the door and slipped inside, content to find Naruto slept with his lights just a bit brighter than Sasuke usually left them. He could see the sprawled body under blankets in the dim light and he clicked the door shut, leaning back against it as he swiped at the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

It was oddly relaxing to see that Naruto had a few articles of clothing thrown around on the floor. That along with a small frog keychain hanging from his lamp gave his room personality, more than Sasuke's had. It was warm, familiar.

He sighed when he realized he couldn't go back to his own room, not when it had become a centre of fear for him. Sasuke leant off of the door and slowly walked towards the bed, inspecting Naruto's sleeping face.

Of course, a thin trail of drool had pooled on the pillow, and Naruto was oblivious to the world. He slept shirtless again, the blankets bunched around his body covering the broad expanse of his back. Sasuke sighed and sat in the space Naruto wasn't occupying, staring at the wall. He moved as quietly as he could to settle underneath the blankets, resting on his side to face away from Naruto.

The warmth from Naruto's back seeped into his own, calming him into a drowsily relaxed state.

Never in his life had he been so dependent on another person. It was a fact that he'd relied on Itachi more often than not - but this, this wasn't relying on Naruto. Naruto was both his weakness and his strength, and it was more aggravating and enchanting than anything he'd ever encountered. But yet again, Naruto was his mobile home and best friend, lover and acquaintance. It was all so agonizingly weakening, but it wasn't worth giving up.

It was no wonder that Itachi had left him.

* * *

><p>AN: You are all such wonderful readers. It's been a pleasure to see y'all telling me how much you love S5, thank you so much! I'm sorry this update is late - I haven't been feeling too bright and time is slipping from my hands. But until next update - we have something in store.


	27. Lightning Answers

Chapter 26: Lightning Answers

* * *

><p>Inevitably, Sasuke had fallen asleep. After wiping away the cold sweat on his chest and neck, he's stayed awake for about an hour before dozing off. Each time he reached the brim of consciousness, though, he'd flinch from the remaining memory of his dream and ended up panting for minutes at a time.<p>

He was thankful that Naruto hadn't woken—that he was such a deep sleeper and loud snorer. Sasuke didn't wish to speak about anything at all, at least not yet. He tucked one of his hands under the pillow and the other on top.

At this moment, he felt like a wimp. One bad dream and he came running to Naruto—there was nothing satisfying other than the comfort to him, and maybe this was the only time it had happened, but it was still aggravating. Sasuke should have just stayed in his room. He should have calmed himself down, turned on the lights, and read something until he could fall asleep properly. But instead, his logic flew out the window and within the few moments he'd submitted to his emotions, he'd ended up with Naruto.

This couldn't always happen, Sasuke thought. He couldn't be the weak one. Neither of them could be the weak one, and neither of them ever _were. _But it was frightening to be so vulnerable and volatile and be so subject to another person.

At the same time… he often overlooked the benefits, didn't he? That talking to Naruto brought peace to his stability. That being with the person he _loved _and knew loved him back was a luxury in this world. Never, ever did he want to lose Naruto. Sasuke couldn't scare him or chase him away, or neglect him so badly that their new relationship fell apart. It was true that he didn't know exactly what he had gotten himself into, but that was the thing about learning, wasn't it? To make mistakes. To accidentally (or intentionally) make Naruto upset and have to carefully conduct a proper conversation or apology. He would learn from and with Naruto, especially when the other didn't quite understand him.

But Sasuke… he could manage this all on his own. He had always been an independent person, and he would stay like that. Slowly but discreetly, he'd work on his own issues apart from Naruto. It was a sound plan.

Naruto sniffled beside him and shifted. A hand grabbed at his face and fingers patted around at his features before Naruto ran his hand from his face to the back of his head, petting it over his hair.

"'Sas?" he asked drowsily, voice hoarse. He cleared his throat and spoke again. "What're you doin' here?"

Sasuke pressed his lips together. "Trying to sleep."

Naruto let out an unamused grunt and rolled over, propping himself up on his elbows to squint in Sasuke's face. "How'd you get in?"

"I didn't steal a couple of hair clips, if that's what you were wondering," he said. "But I really think that you should lock your door."

A confused look washed over Naruto's face. "But I did lock it…" he glanced back to the door, giving it a contemplative look. He shrugged.

Sasuke toyed with the idea of replying, but he chose not to. He turned and closed his eyes, hoping that Naruto would just get the message and leave him alone.

Although the other did lay back down, he did so that his chest was pressed against Sasuke's back. He could tell that Naruto was waiting for him to explain why Sasuke was in his bed on his own. He feigned to be asleep, breathing a bit more deeply and relaxing his shoulders.

"What're you really doing here?" Naruto asked, placing a palm on his forehead. "You were all sweaty earlier."

"Nothing," he grumbled. "Just a bad dream."

Naruto rested his head on his hand behind him, moving his hand from his forehead to run his fingers through Sasuke's bangs. He was quiet for a few seconds. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You wanna tell me about it?" Naruto asked softly, tucking his bangs behind his ear. Most of the unreasonable anger he held towards Naruto dissolved away with the action, and he leaned into the caress.

Sasuke shook his head, knowing that Naruto could feel the movement under his hand. He felt the other shift to predictably ask him what was so wrong that he didn't want to talk about it, and Naruto rolled him onto back.

Sasuke frowned as Naruto's concerned face hovered over his. "Was it really that bad?"

He didn't know how to answer that. He reached up both of his hands to run them through Naruto's bright hair, pulling out a few small tangles along with the action. "Maybe a little."

"Well, I'm glad you came," he murmured. Naruto leant down to plant a kiss on his forehead and rest on his side to face Sasuke. He patted his chest in a comforting manner, offering Sasuke a friendly smile.

Then, Sasuke felt lightheaded and nauseated and any of the anger he'd held against Naruto completely alleviated. He shut his eyes tightly as Naruto ran a firm circle with his hand over his chest.

He wanted to tell Naruto to shut up. He wanted to shove Naruto out of the bed and smother him with a pillow. He wanted to turn his head and kiss him breathless, hold him closely and _more_.

The corner of Sasuke's lip tilted up and he leaned forward to kiss Naruto softly, setting a hand on his cheek. When he pulled away, Naruto regarded him with curious and somber eyes.

"You sure you don't wanna tell me?" he murmured. "It'll make it a lot better."

Sasuke pursed his lips as Naruto ran a thumb over his collarbone, his hand resting right on top of his heart. He swallowed roughly and outlined his dream as of a few hours ago, very much skipping most of the part where he'd almost cried because he got lost in the woods.

When he finished, he closed his eyes as Naruto wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him tightly for a while. He kept on murmuring Sasuke's name into his ear, petting down the back of his hair. Sasuke rested his arm over Naruto's shoulder and played with blond hair again, too.

"I wonder what that means," said Naruto absently.

"It was just a bad dream."

"Yeah," he replied. "But I think dreams are supposed to mean something, y'know? With all that repressing you do…" Naruto caught himself and gave him a bit of a cautious look. "Eh, I mean… dreams are supposed to tell you stuff you don't know about yourself."

"I don't see how this tells me anything about myself," Sasuke deadpanned.

Naruto huffed and furrowed his brow, searching for the right thing to say. "Don't get mad?"

"If you have to ask me that before you tell me something, you'd best not even say it."

"I'm just giving you my two cents on it," Naruto tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Sorry, I hope it doesn't come off like I'm not taking this seriously enough. I don't want you to get upset over it."

Sasuke untangled his fingers from Naruto's hair, moving it down to squeeze his shoulder. "It's fine."

Naruto twisted his lips to the side and continued to play with the collar of Sasuke's shirt. "It's kind of like Neji and them are the bad guys now, so… they've lost their way. The light to their path? Itachi was kind of blinded by all of the hype about the military bases…" Naruto bit his lip and glanced at Sasuke's face. "Like he lost sight of his right path."

Sasuke saw what Naruto meant, actually, and wondered why it didn't make him angry as it probably should have. The other could be surprisingly smart when he wanted to be, no matter how much the discredit from Sasuke. "That's interesting."

"You're not mad?" Naruto rested his hand on his chest. "I wasn't trying to insult him…"

"I see where you've gone with it," Sasuke replied softly. "You're always so straightforward."

He gave Sasuke a curious look. "Is that good or bad?"

"A bit of both."

"You think so?" Naruto glanced away for a second. "When is it good?"

Sasuke paused. This must be another sharing moment between them, he thought, one that was important to their relationship. "Hm… when you stand up for your friends. Or when you make something clear. Like the way you stood for the camp to Neji and Kabuto. And at times like…" he hesitated for a moment, clutching Naruto's comforter in his fingers. "The other night. When you give me no other choice but to listen to you."

Sasuke eyed the light flush in Naruto's cheeks, wondering if he was thinking about the night they'd gotten a bit intimate. He hoped Naruto did the math and understood that was after all of that was what Sasuke was talking about. The way Naruto had so stubbornly drilled it into his head that he loved him.

"Are we having a contest here?" asked Naruto. "About the things we like about each other?"

"We could," Sasuke replied, rolling over onto his side so that their chests were inches away from each other. "But I wouldn't blow up your ego so much that you attract unwanted attention."

Naruto grinned. Was Sasuke instigating that he liked a lot of things about him? Just how many, and exactly what? But if he'd get anything from Sasuke, it surely wouldn't be a barrage of continuous compliments. "Okay. Just one more."

When Sasuke stared at him expectantly, he realized that he was supposed to go first this time. "Ah, okay. Well…"

"Is it really that hard?" Sasuke asked boldly, his eyes focused somewhere on Naruto's stomach.

"Kami," Naruto said. "Of course not. Just gimme a few seconds to get my words together."

Sasuke raised his eyes back to his face. Naruto thought he looked kind of vulnerable right then, and he felt lucky that he'd be the only person to see it. "You really try to cover it up, but you're really… loving. From what I've heard about you when you were little, you were always really caring. I think you're more sensitive than I am," he knocked his forehead lightly against Sasuke's. "'Cause you listen to everything and anything and then you go and overanalyze it. Maybe even fit in some broodin' and moodiness, but that's just who you are."

Sasuke frowned, feeling like the compliment had gone awry after that last part. He opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto interrupted him.

"You do take care of me, and the same with the people you like. Kind of like a mama bear, but not really. You just care a lot more than you let on."

Sasuke swallowed roughly with the accuracy of that. He'd only ever wanted the best for Naruto and his friends, but for some reason—be it the fact that he'd lived in the middle of nowhere for 10 years and was subjected to multiple traumatizing experiences—he never found the correct way to express it. Sometimes it felt as if his emotions weren't his own, and he wasn't allowed to tamper with them. But just being here was exhausting and sending his emotions (hormones) into a wild roller coaster of conflicting thoughts and self-destructive attitudes.

And all of this trying Naruto was doing right now… he didn't care if it made their little compliment scale tip out of balance, but it was worth seeing a flustered grin burst onto that face.

"See?" Sasuke murmured, covering Naruto's face with his hand. "This might go along with straightforward, but you're always so… passionate. You have a very strong will. It's contagious."

He removed his hand from Naruto's face only to be greeted with another goofy smile and a sappy look in his blue eyes. When he tried to put that hand back over Naruto's face, he grabbed his wrist and tugged Sasuke on top of him, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing the breath out of him.

Sasuke winced and pushed at Naruto's shoulders to get him to let up, but if possible, the arms around him squeezed him even tighter and rocked them back and forth a bit. He sighed and rested his chin on Naruto's shoulder, tapping his arm to let him know that he'd seriously better stop.

Sasuke breathed in deeply once Naruto let him go, rolling away from him and fixing his tangled shirt. Naruto kept one arm around him, though, his eyes shut and his lips tilted upward.

"You're dumb," Naruto told him.

"That is rich coming from you," Sasuke replied.

Naruto leant forward and kissed him hard, something that took Sasuke a few moments to process because of the sudden change in mood and force. He could feel their teeth pressing through their lips with the reckless force Naruto was using, opening his mouth against Sasuke's and prodding his tongue inside. It wasn't a change in mood that Sasuke actually _minded_, but it was a bit surprising nonetheless. Feeling like getting caught up with something, he kissed Naruto back with equal fervor as their teeth clanked against each other slightly and he sighed into Naruto's mouth.

Naruto moved to straddle him on the torso, placing his hands on either of Sasuke's cheeks and tucking his hair behind his ears to keep it out of their kiss. Sasuke moved his arms to wrap around Naruto's waist and grip the back of his neck, running his thumb over the thick hair at the nape. He already felt a bit lightheaded and breathless from the kiss, so he broke it only to have Naruto tug a bit roughly at his earlobe, making a shiver run down his spine.

Sasuke grunted as Naruto pressed their hips together harshly, rocking them once or twice before locking their lips again. He must have been frustrated, Sasuke thought, since things were moving a bit quickly. He had certainly been a bit excited when they'd woken up together for the last couple of mornings.

He sighed shakily into Sasuke's mouth and rubbed their crotches together some more, nibbling at his top lip before gently sucking it into his own mouth and releasing it. Naruto's heavy breath against his lips was more than a little distracting, and as he kept dominating the kiss, Sasuke couldn't help but moan and run his hands over Naruto's bare back. He lifted his hips to meet Naruto's, but not with the intention to get himself some friction - he wanted this time to be all about Naruto.

Sasuke reached around and grabbed his butt, pulling the cheeks apart and squeezing them into his hands just as Naruto had done to his own. He used his grip as leverage to get Naruto to grind a bit further away from his own growing arousal, pulling away to dazedly watch a string of saliva break between their swollen lips.

Bravely, Sasuke licked all of Naruto's full lips, sucking on them harshly before he tried to take the kiss over again. He hooked his leg around Naruto's hip and rolled them over, resting on his side and burying his face in the crook of Naruto's shoulder. It was extremely satisfying to see the bulge in Naruto's pants, the semi-hardness he knew was all for him and _only _him. Sasuke snaked his hand down to grope roughly at the outline of his erection, rubbing his palm over it.

Naruto let out a broken moan, reaching his hand out to tug at Sasuke's waistband. He batted the hand away and used his free one to pin it to the bed, knowing that Naruto was eyeing his state of mild arousal.

"Sa-" Naruto started, but bit back a groan when Sasuke laid hot, opened mouth kisses on the sensitive juncture between his shoulder and neck. He tugged on Sasuke's bangs when he palmed him through his pants a bit more roughly.

Sasuke pushed his left hand into the slit of Naruto's pajama pants and wasn't extremely amused to find that he wasn't wearing any underwear. He gripped the base of Naruto's almost fully erect cock in his hand, giving it an experimental squeeze. Naruto's breath hitched above him and it made Sasuke doubt his self control.

He made quick work of taking his hand out and urging Naruto to push his hips up with a quiet groan, pulling his pants to bunch around his thighs. Sasuke eyed the trail of golden hair leading down from his navel to the base of his cock hungrily and wrapped his fist around the head of Naruto's cock, pulling the foreskin down with his hand slowly. The smooth, flushed head peeked out and the boy above him sighed in pleasure. He immediately hardened in his hand when he gave him a long, firm stroke.

Sasuke gasped when Naruto turned his head to kiss at his neck, sucking gently. He twisted his fist as he got to the head of Naruto's cock, squeezing roughly when he got closer to the base. Naruto didn't complain, and it seemed like something he liked judging by the moan muffled into his neck. He thrusted into Sasuke's grip.

Sasuke pulled the skin up with him as he went, running a fast fist over the tip of Naruto's cock. The other's mouth fell open as he fell into a pleasured daze, his toes curling into the bed sheets. He dug his thumb into the slit and rubbed the pre-cum around the head, gently pulling at the foreskin while he was at it.

"Fuck!" Naruto gasped. "Yeah… just like that."

Sasuke tilted his head back as Naruto kissed and licked at his neck hotly, his arm already growing tired as he picked up the pace of his strokes. He let Naruto fuck his hand for a few moments, biting his lip as he watched the jerky movement of hips and the tensing of the muscles in his abdomen. Naruto panted heavily against the side of his neck, short and low groans escaping his mouth. To take a break, he let Naruto's cock bob heavily above his lower stomach in favor of lightly squeezing his sac and rolling one of his balls in his fingers, gently tugging at the loose skin for a few moments.

Naruto grunted and sighed above him, gripping his shoulder harshly as his face flushed deeply and his eyes fluttered shut. The sounds his lover made were more than incredibly arousing - his own cock twitched inside of his pants every time Naruto moaned. Sasuke kissed him passionately as he returned to pumping his girth, drinking down the groans and curses Naruto spilled into his mouth. The side of his palm pressed into those thick blond curls as he pumped him quickly and roughly. Their tongues tapped against and licked at one another, shamelessly exchanging and swallowing each other's spit.

He tugged at Naruto's foreskin again and he came with a loud moan, some of the cum spurting onto his stomach, but catching most of it in his hand. Sasuke milked him through his orgasm, continuing to slowly pump him even though the last diminishing dribbles of cum had fallen over his hand, coating his palm and leaking onto his thumb. Naruto whimpered when he let his softening cock fall back onto his stomach.

Sasuke carefully watched Naruto's eyes squeeze shut again, relaxing back against his pillows in the pleasant aftermath of his climax. He eyed the semen coating his palm and, not so discreetly, raised it to his mouth to lick the salty liquid away. The taste wasn't unpleasant, nor was it appetizing, either. It was slightly bitter.

He raised his eyes just after sucking the last of Naruto's cum off of his thumb, meeting unfocused blue ones.

"Shit," Naruto rasped.

Naruto pushed him onto his back and kissed him hungrily, their swollen lips rubbing against each other and his tongue probing at the roof of Naruto's mouth. His hand kept trying to trail down to the waistband of his sweats, but he kept pushing it away, redirecting it to squeeze at his own shoulder or side.

Naruto pulled away to stare down at him, panting and looking a bit frustrated. "Why the hell won't you let me get you off?"

"Just you," Sasuke murmured, eyeing Naruto's wet lips. It didn't sound like a horrible idea at all, actually, it sounded like a perfect one. But it was true, he had just wanted to get Naruto off tonight, and he did.

Naruto pressed his lips together and leant off of him, though he kept their foreheads pressed together. "Is that what you really want?"

"Yes."

Naruto let out a slightly disapproving grunt, sitting back on his knees so that he could pull his pants back up and tuck himself away inside of them. He gave Sasuke one last aroused, irritated look and rolled to lay down beside him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"No means no," Naruto said, pressing a kiss against his shoulder. "But why?"

Sasuke wondered why he seemed so perturbed over this. There wasn't anything obvious showing through his pants, and with a few select thoughts, he'd be fine. "I just feel like it."

Naruto pressed his lips together. "Is this because of what _I_ said?"

Sasuke shrugged with one shoulder and covered his eyes with his forearm.

He grunted beside him, grabbing the hand closest to him. It happened to be the one hovering by his face, and he gave Naruto an irritated glare when he pulled it away.

"Thank you, though," he said, pressing his lips to the back of Sasuke's palm. It wasn't exactly a kiss, but Sasuke guessed he could interpret it as one. "But I'll get you back."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow but let that comment slip. Naruto let go of his hand to rest his forehead against his shoulder, sighing deeply against it. Sasuke could feel his breath running down his arm.

With thoughts and wonderings of just exactly how Naruto was going to pay him back, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sasuke had risen earlier than Naruto, his inner alarm clock reminding him that he had a meeting with the other members of speed. He noticed that Naruto had replaced his alarm clock and that it had begun blinking in the middle of the night again, stuck at the time when the power had gone off.<p>

From what he'd observed, the power was still off, and they seemed to be relying on the red emergency lights above their head. Warning cones had been placed around the elevator when he'd surfaced from Naruto's room, and someone had scribbled a note on the paper that there was a Sector-wide brownout. The arrow on it pointed in the general direction of the alternative stairs.

Once he'd entered the lobby, a moderate amount of his colleagues had formed in the far corner. Most of them had been disgruntled about the loss of power, and others seemed to enjoy the lack of it.

Sasuke reluctantly took a seat with Suigetsu and Sai, who seemed to have grown a bit closer over the time he'd ignored them. For a few moments, he wondered why Tenten seemed so fixed on avoiding them and socializing with the other members around their age before remembering that, of course, they were _Suigetsu and Sai. _

It took about thirty minutes for the other members to trickle in before Temari herself wondered into the lobby, for once not hounded by her brother. It was new to Sasuke to see her clad in their own protective suits, wearing a dark pair of pants over it. Instead of her usual hairstyle, she had her blond hair pulled back in one tight ponytail, something that looked familiar to him.

Temari didn't even greet them, instead standing at the head of their table with a large tablet in her hands. Her fingers slid across the screen as she looked for something, speaking as she did so.

"I remember we've talked about organized intrusion," she announced, squinting down at the screen before angrily swiping at it again. "And I've already outlined the newest plan with intelligence, so they should be getting back to me pretty soon…"

An awkward silence filled the room as Temari trailed off and typed something into her tablet. "According to the Sectors' weather reports, we should have thunderstorms for the next week or so. As you can see, their power has already gone out, and their security is _awfully _easy to breach."

She placed the tablet face down on the table, finally looking at them all. "Along with the power goes the electric fences, most of their identification systems, and nearly all of their security. The citizens have already taken advantage of this-"

"Excuse me," a man spoke up near her. "Are these citizens our allies?"

Temari frowned and glanced back down at her tablet. "They're not. I think they stand alone as some sort of rebel group. That's just exactly what I wanted to show you…"

"They're protesting again?" someone else interrupted, and Sasuke was confused by the blotchy information. "I thought One-"

His full attention was immediately caught.

"I thought I already filled you all in on the evictions in One?" Temari turned to the person who had asked that question.

"Only the SPI groups," they replied.

Temari pursed her lips. "Well," she said. "I have their news reports right here." She turned her tablet over so that they could all see. A few of his peers shuffled closer and surrounded to read the header of a newscast from One. He was just too far to read the summary, but he could definitely make out the title. _Violent Protesters Strike Again. _

Temari tapped the play button and the video loaded for a few moments before going full screen and zooming in on a pale woman's face.

"Welcome back to the seven o'clock news_." _The woman held a short conversation with the tanner man next to her about the rainy weather that was due.

"I actually bring breaking news about a group of protesters that has made their presence known again," she paused and stared at the screen for a minute, obviously drinking in the information a telecaster spurted out for her. "For the second time this week. We first heard of them about a year ago when president Orochimaru's evictions begun to take place again. Presuming that they were upset by his actions, a crowd formed downtown-" a short clip of a rather large crowd clogging the traffic in the middle of a street was shown. Authorities had surrounded them and the bright blue lights of officials' alarms washed out most of the image, only allowing a couple of small bursts of fire to be shown at the end of the clip. "I think we all remember the aftermath of that. This particular group is in no way peaceful or kind - the last we saw of them, they injured over twenty people, five of which were children, burned part of the city hall down, and spray painted graffiti on a great deal of the buildings downtown." A few more snapshots of blurry and pixelated photos popped onto the screen, showing a crudely painted message on a brick wall. It read _"End Orochimaru" _and right under it _"THIS IS NOT RIGHT!"_

A few more photos popped up, some of the words in them censored as the woman and the man discussed these actions. _"We will be back!"_ One read. He spoke up, "Citizens of sector One, if you notice any strange or suspicious behavior, notify the authorities immediately. President Orochimaru's safety is in our hands and this group of dangerous people is hostile in every which way. Do not be afraid to speak up."

With a horrified look on her face, the newswoman turned to the man and they began to discuss their disagreement with the rebelling group's acts. To Sasuke, most of it sounded very shallow and ignorant. They seemed old enough to have witnessed the mass evictions over ten years ago, and it angered him to know the only reason they were taking it so lightly was because they were sheltered and safe.

Transfixed, they watched a few more minutes of citizens' daily life in a Sector. Dates and guidelines for evictions rolled onto the screen and the newsman scoffed when he read a couple of them aloud. Sasuke skimmed his eyes over some of them, catching that anyone with a lower income than what was displayed on the screen would be evicted, and that the jobless and already homeless would be escorted out as well.

"All those affected by AIDS and terminal illnesses are being asked to leave?" he asked incredulously, turning to the woman next to him. "Why, it's about time, right? They don't have much longer to live and we could do without some diseases."

A cold silence ran over their whole group as the woman agreed with him and they dove into another shallow conversation about transmitted diseases and what proper hygiene meant to them. They reminisced to when the citizens hosting new viruses were evicted about two years ago, as well. It was all obviously staged - their fake pity, monotonous conversation, and concern - as a recommendation for doctor's offices and medications appeared on the screen.

After that, Temari clenched her jaw and exited out of the video, turning the tablet off and pressing it to her stomach. "There you have it."

"I don't think I want to hear what else they have to say," Tenten mumbled.

Sasuke agreed. He was glad that he preferred living away from the Sector - for someone who had been without education for so long, it was ironic that he was more knowledgeable about the world around them and the people in it. He knew how to face the fact that the world didn't revolve around him and only him, and the way those newspeople had spoken so narrow-mindedly about _ill _people…

Orochimaru hadn't changed at all. He had a death wish for both himself and the citizens of his own sector, and they all blindly followed him without question. Sasuke felt a small inkling of connection with the protesters (who had been a relatively large group of people; they'd overfilled an intersection in the road) and suspected that he knew where Temari was trying to go with this.

"I have intelligence working on breaching their systems again," she said tightly. "You and strength's job is to make sure this protesting is under relative control. Of course we're recruiting, but make sure that when you do, not everyone travels in a whole mob back to the Center. Intelligence already worked out a path underground that we can easily take. I'll give you more details tomorrow morning when you're briefed."

"So this was an outline…?"

Temari ignored whoever asked that question and wiped a bit of sweat off of her forehead. "Some of you've gotta help me prepare to drain the water once it starts raining. It's for days this time, too. Don't forget to remind your buddies." With that, she sauntered away, leaving behind a confused force.

Sasuke's first mission? Now he felt useful. He was reminded of why liked this community—everyone gave in this environment, not just selfishly took. It was an intricate system that he appreciated. Albeit Temari and her brother didn't have to go so far as to enforce roles and amateur military rankings on them, he knew that they themselves had been in the military for years before their eviction. It was probably all only instinctual to them, and he knew Temari couldn't see it working any other way.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat drowsily through his own meeting, keeping his cheek tucked into his palm as he kept nodding off. Suna had been holding a boring and droning conversation about the Sectors' government with one of the women in his platoon for the past few minutes, and to say he wasn't interested was an understatement. Karin shook him awake every now and then, and he was thankful for the effort. It was honestly just too early in the morning for him.<p>

Once that conversation grew and the adults put in their own opinions and rumors they had heard of, he rested his head on the table and wrapped his arms around his head, blocking out most of the sound like that.

Naruto fell asleep again, all through the meeting. He wholeheartedly ignored Karin as she pinched his bicep rather painfully and the patronizing kicks directed to his shin. From what he understood, a couple of his other peers had fallen asleep all throughout the meeting as well.

"I can't believe you slept through all of that," Sakura snapped once the meeting was called for a finish, moving to their normal table for breakfast. "This was _seriously _important-"

"He'll hear about it sooner or later," Kiba chimed in, lazily throwing himself back onto the bench. Most of his weight nearly pushed Naruto over, and he scowled and elbowed the other boy in the ribs.

"If it's so important, why don't y'all just fill me in instead of getting after me?" Naruto grumbled, sending Karin and Sakura wary looks.

"We could," Karin agreed. "But I don't feel like it."

"This can't happen in the future, Naruto," Sakura said, slowly taking a seat across from him. She crossed her arms.

He pursed his lips. "I was just up late, okay?"

"I"m not always going to be around to remind you about this stuff," she replied in a hushed tone, eyes serious.

Naruto's eyes widened for a few seconds and then a fresh wave of… sadness washed over him. Sakura continued to summarize the whole meeting for him as if she hadn't even said anything in the first place. It seemed Kiba or Karin hadn't caught that comment, and Ino had just appeared in the line of his sight right after she'd said that. Why did Sakura always have to be so serious sometimes? Maybe this was just the guilt card, but geez, that was harsh.

He didn't want his friends to get hurt. He didn't want his friends to die. He didn't want to even think about his friends getting hurt or his friends dying. They all seemed so invincible to Naruto, shielded with the armor of the time they'd stuck around with him. It was amazing that they'd come this far in the first place, but Naruto would like to keep that streak going.

Naruto slumped his shoulders and the fleeting expression on Sakura's face let him know that she found his mannerisms endearing. Pressing his lips together, he watched Kiba and Chouji play a couple of quick rounds of rock, paper, scissors.

Whatever tomorrow had coming, and if their predictions were right, Naruto hoped that the outcome of it all would be good. He wondered what the citizens in One were really thinking, and whether or not they were happy in their homes. Were they really as materialistic as Sakura had said they were? Hopefully, it couldn't truly be that way. He wondered if the state of One had been about the same when Sasuke had lived there, and whether or not his young self had noticed any disarray around him. Naruto's thoughts took a bit of a turn when he wondered about what park Sasuke had played at, what his childhood home had looked like, and if he'd ever spent his time looking for his favorite toy. He knew Sasuke'd had very few friends (if he and Sasuke were both being honest, none—maybe he'd speak a few words to the arranged playdate his mother and a friend had agreed on) because he spent most of his time bonding with Itachi.

The thought of Sasuke's brother made his chest tighten, but not with hatred. Itachi's previous wishes had been for his little brother to live safely. Within that brotherly connection, Naruto could see no hatred whatsoever, only what he'd witnessed on a constant schedule. Disguised affection, subdued playfulness and banter between the brothers (something that'd surprised him at first; they were both so stoic), and unadulterated care for one another. It stressed him out, almost nearly as much as Sasuke probably was, but he couldn't shake the feeling that their connections with Gaara, Neji, Kabuto and Itachi had completely severed yet.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Kiba grabbed him into a chokehold and rubbed the top of his head, laughing heartily and pushing at the other.

Naruto just really hoped it would all work out.

* * *

><p>AN: What a coincidence that a bunch of violence has broken out in America by the time I've gotten to this part of the story. I hope to give you all some insight on the more… cruel part of what's happening to the citizens. You'll definitely see outside of our own sheltered and safe world, that's for sure. The streets are tough. Thanks for all of the follows/favs, reviews, kudos. Don't forget to leave some, I love it. This story may go on a small break as I venture out of this universe again and hopefully start on a little story of the boys in high school. We'll see.


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